Carolina Rolls Over Buccaneers, 4-0

March 22, 2006

Columbia, S.C. –

South Carolina’s men’s tennis team had little trouble getting back to its winning ways on Wednesday, recording its third shutout of 2006, 4-0, over visiting Charleston Southern. The Gamecocks evened their season record at 9-9, and dropped the Buccaneers to 7-4 on the year. The win also improved USC to 7-0 all-time against CSU, and guaranteed Carolina a winning record in home matches for the 18th straight season and 33rd time in its 34 years of dual match competition.

The Gamecocks got off to a quick start in the doubles point, with senior Tom Eklund and sophomore Jaime Cuellar breezing past the Buccaneers No. 1 doubles team of Lee Shutte and Quintin Guichard, 8-3. CSU’s Marat Atilla and Chris Peek were able to survive a late rally from Carolina senior Adam Adler and redshirt freshman Thomas Stoddard, and evened the point at one match apiece. USC responded seconds later and clinched its 12th doubles point of the campaign with Pedro Rodrigues and Yevgeny Supeko’s 8-3 defeat of John Dean and Babar Alzbar on court two.

Rodrigues got the ball rolling in singles for Carolina, with his 58-minute, straight set win over Shutte at No. 3 singles. Stoddard, a native of Greenwood, S.C., battled fellow Palmetto State native Peeks (Lexington) on court five. The match turned quickly in favor of the Gamecocks’ redshirt freshman however, as Stoddard eased to a 6-0, 6-1 win, handing USC a 3-0 lead in the match. Eklund, the senior captain for the Gamecocks, took the first set at No. 1 singles in just 23 minutes, and capped off the shutout for USC with his 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Guichard.

Carolina heads back into SEC play this weekend, as it travels to Baton Rouge, La. and Fayetteville, Ark. to take on conference rivals LSU and Arkansas. The Gamecocks swept the two teams in Columbia last season to kick off their SEC campaign, downing the Razorbacks, 5-2, for USC head coach Kent DeMars’ record-setting 320th win at Carolina, before knocking off the then-No. 9 Tigers, 4-3, two days later. Friday’s match at LSU is scheduled for a 3 p.m. (ET) start, while first serve on Sunday at Arkansas is set for 2 p.m. (ET).

<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Charleston Southern (7-4, 2-1 Big South) 0<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

#49 South Carolina (9-9, 1-3 SEC) 4

Doubles:

1. Tom Eklund/Jaime Cuellar (SC) def. Lee Shutte/Quintin Guichard (CS) 8-3

2. Pedro Rodrigues/Yevgeny Supeko (SC) def. John Dean/Babar Alzbar (CS) 8-3

3. Murat Atilla/Chris Peek (CS) def. Adam Adler/Thomas Stoddard (SC) 8-6

Order of Completion: 1, 3, 2

South Carolina wins the doubles point

Singles:

1. Tom Eklund (SC) def. Quintin Guichard (CS) 6-3, 6-3

2. Jaime Cuellar (SC) def. John Dean (CS) 6-2, 3-1 (susp.)

3. Pedro Rodrigues (SC) def. Lee Shutte (CS) 6-4, 6-0 (:58)

4. Yevgeny Supeko (SC) vs. Steve Dean (CS) 6-1, 2-3