NEWBERRY - The No. 7 Lander Bearcats were too much for the Newberry men's tennis team at the Cannon Tennis Courts on Friday afternoon, as the Wolves fell 8-1 to the visiting Bearcats.

Lander (9-3), the No. 7 team in the nation and No. 2 team in the Southeast region, started off the match with three-straight wins in doubles action. Newberry (7-6) held its own at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, including an 8-4 decision at No. 1 that saw seniors Michael Saunders (Christchurch, New Zealand) and Vinicius Botelho (Fortaleza, Brazil) fall to the No. 4 pair in the region.

Singles play saw the Bearcats control most of the matches. The Wolves' lone point on the day came as sophomore Fernando Espana battled from down a set, to topple Marc Hofer in three sets.

Saunders, Botelho and redshirt-junior Mohammed Chakir (Rabat, Morocco) each fell to regionally ranked opponents, whle Saunders' opponent at No. 1 is also ranked No. 13 in the country.

Newberry returns to conference play on Sunday with its first ever South Atlantic Conference match against conference newcomer Queens. The Wolves and Royals are set to meet at noon in Charlotte.