COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Despite winning the first set, Radford's Martin Sayer (Hong Kong/Sagemont Virtual) and Zack Watson (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) fell to No. 17 Clay Donato and Taylor Fogleman of UNC in the opening round of the 2009 NCAA Doubles Championships hosted by Texas A&M at the Mitchell Tennis Center.

After dropping the first game of the match, Sayer and Watson won the next three and never looked back taking the opening set by a 6-4 margin.

The Tar Heels' top duo forced a third and decisive set with a 6-2 victory in the second set.

Donato and Fogleman carried their impressive play into the final set and clinched the match with a 6-1 decision in the third.

To go along with winning 41 of their 50 matches since teaming up in 2006, Sayer and Watson climbed to as high as 46th in the rankings before finishing the spring with a 19-3 mark.

Sayer and Watson became the first Highlander tandem in school history to compete in the doubles portion of the NCAA Championships. The Big South all-conference performers entered the 2009 NCAA Doubles Championships ranked 54th in the latest ITA Rankings.

With their triumph, Donato and Fogleman advance to the Round of 16 and will take on Sacramento State's Kiryl Harbatsiuk and Anton Stryhas Friday.