The 2019 season was one to remember for USC Aiken men's tennis. The Pacers reached the Elite Eight for the first time in school history and wrapped up the memorable season with a 19-4 overall ledger, which included a 7-2 league mark that was good enough for second place in the PBC.
Head coach
Steve Dahm's team turned in arguably the program's best performance despite having some tremendous success in the program's run, including a memorable 2009 season when the team went 20-5.
Salvador Bandeira and
Antonio Sabugueiro picked up ITA All-America accolades for doubles play after a tremendous campaign that saw them go 17-6 at the No. 1 spot.
Bandeira, the PBC Freshman of the Year, was a second-team all-conference performer in singles and doubles action. Sabugueiro joined him as a second-team all-PBC honoree in singles and doubles competition while veteran
Tales Silva garnered second-team all-league accolades in singles play.
The Pacers boasted five student-athletes that registered at least 11 singles wins, including Sabugueiro's team-best 18 wins. Vicente Andrade was not far behind, going 16-4 on the year while Bandeira tallied a 14-4 mark.
Francesco Satta and Silva each notched 11 singles victories on the year.
All three doubles spots saw USC Aiken in the plus-column. The team finished 17-6 at No. 1 doubles and 16-6 at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles while going through only five different line-ups.
The Pacers jumped out to a 10-0 mark behind stellar play by the squad. The team's closest match during the start of the year came in a 4-3 win at Anderson. During the run, USC Aiken bested league-foes Francis Marion, Augusta and Georgia Southwestern while also taking down NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 foe Bluefield State 4-2.
After a setback to then-No. 3 Columbus State, Dahm's team regrouped and bested No. 8 Lander 4-3, snapping a 12-match losing streak to the Bearcats that dated back to 2010.
USC Aiken dropped a nail-biter to No. 7 Flagler four days later, but welcomed back standout
Alvaro Garcia Gil, who had missed much of the year due to an injury. With the team's confidence still high, the squad rolled past No. 18 Georgia College 6-1 to start the month of April.
The Pacers closed the season with home wins over Young Harris and No. 11 North Georgia for a 7-2 league record.
The ledger meant a three-way tie for USC Aiken, Lander and Flagler. The Pacers won the coin toss for the No. 2 seed in the PBC Tournament. The squad promptly knocked off the Jaguars 4-2 and the Saints 4-3 to earn a berth in the PBC Championship where it lost to top-seeded Columbus State.
With the strong record, USC Aiken managed to secure the regional bid to host the Southeast Region Championship. The Pacers were matched up with the No. 14 Nighthawks in the opening round and quickly dismantled the PBC team. In the second round, Dahm's team had a back-and-forth affair against No. 6 Wingate and knocked off the perennial power by a 4-2 score to earn the program's first-ever berth into the Sweet 16.
At the national tournament, USC Aiken faced off against No. 29 Drury and quickly took down the Panthers 4-1 before falling in the Elite Eight to Hawaii Hilo.
USC Aiken's men's tennis team put together a tremendous run during its final season, giving fans and alumni memories that words cannot describe, leaving a lasting legacy that will be talked about for years to come.
