No. 17 Francis Marion Advances With 5-1 Win Over Mars Hill

SAVANNAH, Ga. - The No. 17-ranked Francis Marion men's tennis squad advanced to the second round of the 2009 NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Southeast Regional with a 5-1 win over Mars Hill on Thursday afternoon at the AASU Tennis Complex in Savannah.

The Patriots (16-5), who advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals last season, picked up the victory over the Lions (13-6) in only the second meeting between the two schools in program history.

Francis Marion won two of three doubles matches to take a 2-1 lead. Dirk Bair and Karl Rogers notched a quick 8-3 win over Taylan Batuk and Alessandro du Besse at No. 3 doubles, then the sixth-ranked duo of Dilshod Sharifi and Oshada Wijemanne collected an 8-2 win over Andre Schafer and Stevan Stankovic at No. 1 doubles. Mars Hill salvaged a point at No. 2 doubles with Tyrone La Reservee and Koeche Smith's 8-4 win over Jack Bishop and Matthew Keth.

The Patriots then clinched the match with three straight-set wins in singles. Wijemanne, ranked No. 10 in the nation in singles, defeated du Besse, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 1 singles. Bastian Cwalinna delivered a 6-3, 6-1 win over Schafer at No. 4 singles, then Bair clinched the match with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) win over Stankovic at No. 6 singles.

Francis Marion advances to face No. 9-ranked USC Aiken in a second-round match on Friday, May 8, at 2:00 p.m.