SAVANNAH, Ga. - The second-seeded Lander men's tennis team advanced to the semifinal round of the Peach Belt Conference tennis tournament Friday afternoon when the Bearcats defeated seventh-seeded Augusta State, 5-1, at the AASU Tennis Complex.
Lander, which is ranked No. 15 in the country, improves to 16-5 overall, while No. 31 ASU drops to 14-8. The Bearcats will meet No. 3 Georgia College & State University at 4 p.m., Saturday.
The Bearcats swept the three doubles matches then needed just two wins in singles to clinch the match.
In doubles, No. 1 Damien Cordesse/Guilherme Fonseca (LU) def. Frederico Mendes/Igor Vasconcellos, 8-3; No. 2 T.C. Valle/Henrik Willers (LU) def. Arthur Figueiro/Sergi Mullor, 8-1; and No. 3 Carlos Benatzky/Andre Ivarsson (LU) def. Guilherme Ferraz/John Smith, 8-5.
In singles, No. 2 Damien Cordess (LU) def. Igor Vasconcellos, 6-3, 6-0; and No. 5 T.C. Valle (LU) def. Guilherme Ferraz, 6-2, 6-4. Augusta State's only win came at No. 3 singles when Lander's Henri Willers retired in his match against Arthur Figueiro.
