Feb. 20, 2011
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Men’s Tennis team continued play Sunday afternoon at the South Carolina Field House against the USC Upstate Spartans. The Gamecocks took the match by a score of 5-2.
The Gamecocks started the competition off on the right foot by taking all three doubles matches and clinching the doubles point. The Gamecock’s No. 3 doubles team of freshman Jake Bowling and sophomore Alexander Kostanov quickly rolled through their match over Upstate’s Gianluca Paino and Ignacio Velez by a score of 8-1. Bowling and Kostanov broke the Spartan duo in their second opportunity and never looked back, holding serve the entire match and breaking the Spartans three times. The Gamecock doubles point was clinched through the efforts of Chris Sheehan and Johannes Pulsfort in the No. 2 spot with an 8-3 victory over Upstate’s Marco Linconir and Ramiro Blanco. But the Gamecocks were not finished, as freshman Chip Cox and junior Ivan Machado put the finishing touches on a stellar round of doubles play with an 8-3 win in the No. 1 spot.
With the doubles point in hand, the Gamecocks took their momentum into singles play. Pulsfort kept the South Carolina scoring up at the No. 4 position with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Linconir. After starting the first set down 0-2, the senior from Lueneberg, Germany rallied to win six straight games and the first set. It was all Pulsfort in the second set as he took the set in convincing fashion, 6-2. At the No. 3 spot, Cox earned the Gamecocks third point of the day with his 6-4, 6-2 win over Gonzalo Blanco. Cox improved to 3-1 on the year at the No. 3 spot and has been one of the bright spots of South Carolina’s 2011 season. However, fortunes turned for the Gamecocks as Upstate took the next two points of the match with victories at the No. 2 and No. 1 spots, but with the pressure on, Bowling answered the call in the No. 5 spot. The Cary, N.C. native took the match for the Gamecocks with a dominating 6-1, 6-0 win over Upstate’s Paino. Bowling was perfect on holding serve and controlled the match from the start. Sophomore Harry Menzies also picked up a win on the day for the Gamecocks at the No. 6 spot by a score of 6-1, 6-2.
Coach Josh Goffi was pleased with the effort on the court today. He said of the day “Today was a good show for the most part. They competed well and they took care of business.” South Carolina now takes a two game win streak into its first SEC matches. “It is important going into SEC season to have a little bit of momentum here. We have a two week break now for us to move outside. But this is a much needed victory for us and it is going to carry us through the next few weeks until the first SEC weekend.”
With this win South Carolina improves to 4-5 on the season. The Gamecocks kick of SEC play with home matches on March 4th vs. Arkansas and March 6th vs. LSU at the USC Indoor Facility. Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com for more information on South Carolina Men’s Tennis.
Results
Doubles (Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1 )
1. Ivan Machado / Chip Cox (SC) def. Edgar Rodriguez / Ramiro Blanco (USCU) 8-3
2. Chris Sheehan / Johannes Pulsfort (SC) def. Ramiro Blanco / Marco Linconir (USCU) 8-3
3. Jake Bowling / Alexander Kostanov (SC) def. Gianluca Paino / Ignacio Velez (USCU) 8-1
Singles (Order of Finish: 4, 3, 2, 1, 5, 6)
1. Edgar Rodriguez (USCU) def. Ivan Machado (SC) 0-6, 6-4, 6-4
2. Ramiro Blanco (USCU) def. Alexander Kostanov (SC) 6-4, 6-2
3. Chip Cox (SC) def. Gonzalo Blanco (USCU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Johannes Pulsfort (SC) def. Marco Linconir (USCU) 6-2, 6-2
5. Jake Bowling (SC) def. Gianluca Paino (USCU) 6-1, 6-0
6. Harry Menzies (SC) def. Ignacio Velez (USCU) 6-1, 6-2
