Feb. 1, 2002

Columbia, S.C. –
The South Carolina men’s tennis team concluded the tournament portion of their schedule with an exhibition match against Auburn on Sunday. While not counting toward team records, results from the meet will be included on the netters individual NCAA records.

In doubles action, the team of Marcus Westman and Angelo Niculescu improved to 6-2 in tournament play with an 8-3 victory over Auburn’s Andrew Colombo and Raitis Tukans. Ben Atkinson and David Nelson also walked away winners with an 8-2 over the team of Mark Kovacs and Mark Van Elden. Auburn walked away with a win in the third doubles contest as Andre Boz and Estevom Strecker topped USC’s Rodrigo Pacheco and Rob Cassidy 8-6.

Singles play saw four Gamecocks come on top, while Auburn took three matches. Angelo Niculescu was victorious out of the No. 1 position for the Gamecocks, with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Andrew Colombo. Other winners in singles competition were Marcus Westman, Ben Atkinson, and Rob Cassidy.

Up next for the Gamecocks will be the dual season opener on February 2nd against North Carolina State.

Match Results

Doubles:
1. Westman/Niculescu def. Colombo/Tukans 8-3
2. Atkinson/Nelson def. Kovacs/Van Elden 8-2
3. Pacheco/Cassidy def. Boz/Strecker 8-6

Singles:
1. Angelo Niculescu (USC) def. Andrew Colombo (AU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. Mark Kovacs (AU) def. David Nelson (USC) 7-6, 6-7, 7-6
3. Marcus Westman (USC) def. Mark Van Elden (AU) 6-2, 5-7, ret.
4. Estevom Strecker (AU) def. Rodrigo Pacheco (USC) 7-5, 6-4
5. Ben Atkinson (USC) def. Raitis Tukans (AU) 6-4, 6-1
6. Tim Taylor (AU) def. Nasir Sherazi (USC) 6-2, 7-5
7. Rob Cassidy (USC) def. Rinat Sikdor (AU) 6-2, 6-0