AIKEN, S.C.—USC Aiken's men's tennis team lost twice this past weekend.  The Pacers (0-3, 0-2 PBC) fell on Thursday to number 22 Francis Marion University (4-1, 1-0 PBC) by a score of 8-1 at the USC Aiken Tennis Complex in Aiken, S.C.  USCA returned to action on Sunday and lost, 7-0, to the 16th ranked University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C.
Between the two losses, the Pacers' home match with Georgia College & State on Friday was postponed because of rain and their match at Columbus State scheduled for Saturday was rescheduled.  CSU and USC Aiken will play the match during the North-South Tournament being held March 28-30.  The Pacers were scheduled to play Furman University Sunday evening in Columbia, S.C., but that match was cancelled. 
  
Freshman Harshit Sharma picked up the first singles win of his USC Aiken career with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over FMU's number two seed, Lewellyn King. 
  
Fernando Guevara and Nicolas Lombardo each lost in three sets.  Guevara won his first set against Kevin Taylor, 6-4, but dropped the next two by scores of 6-3 and 7-6.  Just like Guevara, Lombardo won his opening set, 6-0, against Dan Cordrey but lost the next two, 6-1, 7-5. 
  
The 16th ranked NCAA Division I Gamecocks did not drop a single set to the Pacers.  Kiril Popov and Sharma fared the best against South Carolina.  Popov, playing in the number one seed singles match, lost to Angelo Niculescu, 7-6, 6-3.  Sharma fell to Tom Eklund, 6-4, 7-5.
The Pacers will return to action on Thursday when they travel to Charlotte, N.C., for a 2:00 p.m. match with Belmont Abbey College. 
 
#22 Francis Marion defeats USC Aiken 8-1 
Singles: 
1 Mark Bube (FMU) defeated Kiril Popov (USCA) 6-4, 6-4 
2 Harshit Sharma (USCA) defeated Lewellyn King (FMU) 6-4, 6-0 
3 Kevin Taylor (FMU) defeated Fernando Guevara (USCA) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 
4 Jan Schmidt (FMU) defeated Carlos Huerta (USCA) 6-2, 6-3 
5 Dan Cordrey (FMU) defeated Nicolas Lombardo (USCA) 0-6, 6-1, 7-5 
6 Alex Cury (FMU) defeated Bogdan Diaconesu (USCA) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles: 
1 Bube/Taylor (FMU) defeated Sharma/Popov (USCA) 8-4 
2 King/Cordrey (FMU) defeated Lombardo/Guevara (USCA) 9-8 
3 Schmidt/Cury (FMU) defeated Huerta/Diaconesu (USCA) 8-5
Records: 
USC Aiken (0-2, 0-2 PBC), FMU (4-1, 1-0 PBC) 
 
#16 South Carolina defeats USC Aiken 7-0 
Singles: 
1 Angelo Niculescu (SC) defeated Kiril Popov (USCA) 7-6, 6-3 
2 Tom Eklund (SC) defeated Harshit Sharma (USCA) 6-4, 7-5 
3 Carl Wermee (SC) defeated Fernando Guevara (USCA) 6-1, 6-0 
4 Ben Atkinson (SC) defeated Nicolas Lombardo (USCA) 6-2, 6-4 
5 Geraldo Knorr (SC) defeated Carlos Huerta (USCA) 6-3, 6-2 
6 Nasir Sherazi (SC) defeated Bogdan Diaconesu (USCA) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles: 
1 Rose/Wermee (SC) defeated Sharma/Popov (USCA) 8-4 
2 Knorr/Niculescu (SC) defeated Lombardo/Guevara (USCA) 8-2 
3 Atkinson/Eklund (SC) defeated Huerta/Diaconesu (USCA) 8-2
Records: 
USC Aiken (0-3, 0-2 PBC), USC (7-0, 0-0 SEC)