GREENWOOD - The No. 13-ranked Lander men's tennis team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II Mid-Atlantic Region Thursday afternoon when the Bearcats defeated No. 23 Augusta State, 5-0, at the Joe Cabri Courts.

Lander will face the Francis Marion/Anderson University winner at 11 a.m., Friday, in the championship match. The regional champion earns a berth into the 16-team national tournament.

Lander improves to 18-6 overall, while Augusta State ends the season at 15-10.

In doubles, No. 1 Guilherme Fonseca/Damien Cordesse (LU) def. Igor Vasconcellos/Frederico Mendes, 8-5; No. 2 T.C. Valle/Henrik Willers (LU) def. Arthur Figueiro/Guilherme Ferraz, 8-3; and No. 3 Carlos Benatzky/Andre Ivarsson (LU) def. Sergi Mullor/John Smith, 8-6.

With a 3-0 lead after doubles, Lander needed just victories in two singles matches to claim the win.
Lander's Juan Manrique earned the first singles victory at No. 6 when he defeated ASU's John Smith, 6-3, 6-1. Lander clinched the match when Guilherme Fonseca def. Sergi Mullor, 6-3, 6-3, in No. 1 singles.