NEWBERRY, S.C. - The Newberry College men's tennis team nearly won its first South Atlantic Conference match of the season but came up short against Carson-Newman by the narrowest of margins, 5-4.

Newberry drops to 1-8 overall and 0-4 in the SAC. Carson-Newman sees its record improve to 6-5 overall and 1-2 in SAC play.

The scarlet and gray got off to a roaring start with a 2-1 lead after doubles play. Maxim Sukharev (Vilnius, Lithuania) and Lucas Mattos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) engineered a thrilling win over Rudolfo Schwarz and Trent Slagle, 9-7, for a first-flight victory. Pavle Popovic (Belgrade, Serbia) and Christian Ranguelov (Vienna, Austria) earned Newberry's other doubles win with an 8-5 victory over Jack Harvie and Paul Birdsong, 8-5. Newberry's final pair, Samuel Cartin (Columbia, S.C.) and Samuel Cartin (Irmo, S.C.), came up short against the team of Adriano Kira and Chris Acker, 8-1.

Unfortunately for Newberry, one singles match would swing the outcome in favor of the Eagles. A win from Lucas Mattos over Jack Harvie, 6-2, 6-2, gave Newberry a leg up and Christian Ranguelov also took down Adriano Kira, 6-3, 6-0, to give Newberry its fourth point. Pavle Popovic fell in the second flight in a hard-fought match to Trent Slagle, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, and Samuel Cartin lost to Paul Birdsong, 6-0, 6-1. A defeat from Scott Busbee against Derek Holdway, 6-2, 6-0, gave Maxim Sukharev a chance to decide the match against Rudolfo Schwarz. Sukharev came out firing and took the first set but Schwarz would hold off a hard-charging Sukharev in the remaining sets for a 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. The win gave Carson-Newman its first win in conference play.

Newberry will face SAC foe Wingate in Wingate, N.C., in the team's next contest. The match is scheduled for Thursday, April 1, at 2:30 p.m.