Oct. 10, 2007
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SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The USC Upstate men's tennis team will head to Capital City this weekend for the USC Fall Invitational in Columbia, S.C. The Spartans are not new to the USC Fall Invitational, competing in the tournament in 2006 with Jack Roux and Leandro Osorio advancing to the semifinal round of the B-2 doubles bracket. The invitational is one of the largest fall tournaments in the southeast with four flights of doubles and eight flights of singles play.
Men Dominate At Wofford Tournament
The USC Upstate men's tennis team once again dominated play during the Wofford Fall Challenge, finishing the event with an .900 winning percentage. Junior Leandro Osorio and sophomore Jack Roux led the team with six wins during the tournament, three in singles and three in doubles. In their first action of the year, senior Sebastian Gonzales-Orbegoso and freshman Nicolas Ospina added perfect 5-0 records during the weekend.
Passing 80
Senior Sebastian Gonzales-Orbegoso reached 80 combined wins in his career on Saturday at the Wofford Fall Challenge, as the primary No. 4 singles player in 2006-07 went a perfect 5-0 on the weekend, winning two singles matches and three doubles matches during the weekend. Gonzales-Orbegoso, whose brother, Diego, was also a letterwinner at Upstate, has posted an impressive 42-21 career doubles record and a 39-23 singles mark.
Men Make Noise At Southern Intercollegiates
Junior Sandy Franz posted a three-set win against Florida's Nestor Briceno, 3-6, 6-0, 6-4, to reach the Division I singles round of 32 at the Southern Intercollegiates. Briceno was ranked 91st in the preseason Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Although, he fell to Wake Forest's Steve Forman in the second round, Franz had little more than 12 hours to recuperate between matches and also had to play two doubles matches in that period.
Sophomore Javier Tori also advanced to the round of 32 in the Division I bracket of singles play, defeating South Carolina's Ivan Cressoni, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Sophomore Renzo Airaldi breezed through his two matches on Friday afternoon to reach the round of 32 in the Division II singles bracket. He won his first round match, 6-0, 6-2, over Georgia State's Augusto Alvarado before winning in the second round against Samford's Oliver Reynolds, 7-6 (3), 6-0. In doubles the teams of Airaldi and Franz and sophomore Jack Roux and Tori also each won a match at the tournament.
Franz, Airaldi Lead Men At Upstate Tournament
Both junior Sandy Franz and sophomore Renzo Airaldi dominated en route to the their flight's finals at the USC Upstate Tennis Tournament. Franz, in the `A' draw, posted a 6-2, 6-0 victory in the round of 16, a 6-1, 6-4 win in the quarterfinals, and a 6-4, 6-1 decision in the semis en route to the finals. Airaldi, in the `B' draw, took a similar dominant route, winning 6-2, 6-3; 6-1, 6-4; and 6-2, retired. Both were set to meet Wofford players in the finals and it was decided the finals would be played later in the week. However, due to injuries to the Wofford players, the matches have not been completed.
However, Franz and Airaldi did team together to win the men's doubles `A' draw, winning three matches to earn the title, including a 9-8 tiebreaker against teammates senior Sebastian Gonzales-Orbegoso and sophomore Javier Tori.
Going Out With A Bang
The 2007 season marked the last in both USC Upstate tennis programs' tenures in Division II and both teams posted the best season in school history. The men's program finished with a school-record 23 wins, had two All-Americans, Stefan Dumitrescu and his doubles partner, sophomore Renzo Airaldi, and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. The women's program posted a school-record 21 wins, added an All-American in Anna Novo and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Round of 16 for the first time in school history.
De Marzo's Mark
Fourth-year head coach Alessandro De Marzo has left an indelible mark on USC Upstate tennis during his previous three years in charge of both the men's and women's teams. When the dual meet season begins, he will be just three wins shy of reaching 100 career wins as a head coach. De Marzo led the Spartan men to 51 wins, three trips to the Division II Tournament and one quarterfinals appearance and the Spartan women to 46 wins, three trips to the Division II Tournament and a trip to the Round of 16.
All-American Airaldi
Sophomore Renzo Airaldi started his career with the Spartans with a bang, earning ITA Division II All-American honors in doubles with partner Stefan Dumitrescu. The team finished the year with a 22-3 record. The duo played at all positions in the lineup, tallying a 7-3 record at the No. 1 position, 6-0 at No. 2, and 9-0 at No. 3. The two were undefeated with an 8-0 record in Peach Belt Conference play and helped lead the Spartans to a second-place finish in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament.
