COLUMBUS, Ga. – The No. 31 University of South Carolina Aiken men's tennis team lost a 6-3 decision at No. 6 Columbus State Sunday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 2-4 on the year and 1-2 against league competition. The Cougars are 5-0 overall and 2-0 against conference foes.

Head coach Steve Dahm's team put forth an outstanding effort, pushing the top-10 team to the verge of defeat. In doubles action, the tandem of Mathias Degardin and Andy Quirk posted an 8-3 victory over No. 11 Adi Malicbegovic and Marco Almorin. USC Aiken nearly pulled off two more wins in doubles play, but lost the No. 2 and No. 3 contests by identical 8-6 scores.

In singles competition, Ettore Damiani played a three-set affair at the No. 1 spot, but came up just short. He won the first set 6-1, but fell 6-3, 6-2 in the final two sets.

Third-seeded Quirk boasted a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory while Degardin, playing in the No. 4 spot, won his match by 6-2, 6-2 scores.

Andino lost his match at the No. 6 position, but forced the two-set contest into extra points before falling 6-2, 7-6.  

The Pacers return to action Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., when they host Belmont Abbey in a non-conference contest.