FLORENCE, S.C.  – The No. 33 University of South Carolina Aiken men's tennis team dropped a 5-2 contest to No. 5 Lander in the PBC Quarterfinals Friday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 10-8 on the season while the Bearcats improve to 16-4.

Head coach Steve Dahm's team jumped out to a 2-1 lead after three tightly contested doubles matches. Top-seeded Mathias Degardin and Julien Tan dropped a hard-fought 9-7 match. However, second-seeded Antonio Sabugueiro and Tales Silva notched an 8-6 victory. Wojciech Adamek and Hunter Lathrop tallied a 9-7 win at the No. 3 slot.

Lander, however, took control of the match by garnering wins in four straight singles matches for the win. Two matches were left unfinished since the first to five points claimed the overall win.

Degardin, playing at the No. 1 position, fell by a 6-1, 6-0 score. Lathrop dropped a 6-4, 6-0 contest at the No. 4 slot.

At the No. 5 spot, Silva pushed his opponent to extra points, but it was not enough in the 6-1, 7-6 defeat. Adamek also dropped a tightly-contested match by a 7-5, 6-2 score.

The Pacers compete in the backdraw tomorrow against Georgia College beginning at 1 p.m.