March 1, 2002

Columbia, SC –
Building on the school’s best start in five years, South Carolina’s men’s tennis team improved to 7-0, 1-0 in SEC play, by topping No. 13 Mississippi State 4-3 Friday at the Sam Daniel Tennis Center.

Mississippi State jumped to an early 1-0 lead by sweeping the Gamecocks in doubles action. The 1-0 deficit marked the first time South Carolina had trailed at any point this season.

As singles play began the Bulldogs continued their dominance by winning the first two matches to go up 3-0 in the contest. Battling adversity of the first time, the emotional Gamecock squad went on to reel off four straight singles victories and claim the win.

Angelo Niculescu put things in motion for the Gamecocks by topping Rene-Charles Combette 7-5, 6-4. Rodrigo Pacheco followed suit battling back from an early deficit to top Max Fomine 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. David Nelson kept the ball rolling with an emotional victory over Luiz Carvalho 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1. With the match locked up at 3-3 Marcus Westman slammed the door on Mississippi State by battling back to a 7-5, 6-7(1), 7-5 victory over Jerome Le Belicard.

With the win, South Carolina claims a share of first place in the SEC. The Gamecocks will be back in action Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. when they host No. 6 Ole Miss at the Sam Daniel Tennis Center. The match will be moved indoors if weather is not favorable.

Match Results:

Doubles:
1.Ambert/Combette d. Niculescu/Westman (USC) 8-2
2. Fomine/Henou d. Atkinson/Nelson (USC) 8-6
3. Carvalho/Le Belicard d. Rose/Wermee (USC) 8-0

Singles:
1. No. 7 Romain Ambert d. Seth Rose (USC) 6-1, 6-2
2. Angelo Niculescu (USC) d. Rene-Charles Combette 7-5, 6-4
3. David Nelson (USC) d. Luiz Carvalho 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1
4. Marcus Westman (USC) d. Jerome Le Belicard 7-5, 6-7(1), 7-5
5. Aymeric Henou d. Carl Wermee (USC) 6-1, 6-2
6. Rodrigo Pacheco (USC) d. Max Fomine 3-6, 6-4, 6-3