AUGUSTA, Ga. - In their first NCAA action in two weeks, the Newberry College men's tennis team put forth a gritty effort but fell nonetheless to No. 19 Augusta State, 8-1. The Indians fall to 1-2 on the season, while the Jaguars improve to 6-2.

The day started well for Newberry, as the South African duo of Daryl Van Vuuren (Durban, South Africa) and Jeremy Smith (Durban, South Africa) scored an 8-5 upset of Igor Vasconcellos and Frederico Mendes in No. 1 singles.

"For Daryl and Jeremy to beat such a skilled team on the road is a great accomplishment," said Indian coach Juan Pablo Favero. "I expect great things from that pair the rest of the season.

The Indians very nearly pulled out the other two doubles matches as well. Maxim Sukharev (Vilnius, Lithuania) and Lucas Mattos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) fell 8-5 in the 2nd flight to Sergi Mullor and Arthur Figueiro, while No. 3 team Felipe Sobrinho (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Mikael Jurkovic fell 8-6 to Guilherme Ferraz and John Smith.

The Jaguars were able to distance themselves in singles action. The third flight saw the only three-setter of the afternoon, as Smith fell 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 to Figueiro.  

Despite the loss, Favero was impressed with his team's effort. "I couldn't be prouder of how we competed today," Favero glowed. "Even though we lost, we fought very hard against a very talented group of players. That intensity is something we can build upon heading into our South Atlantic Conference opener."

That SAC opener will take place Wednesday against first-year SAC member Lincoln Memorial. The Indians and Railsplitters will kick things off at 2 p.m. at the Cannon Tennis Courts.