April 3, 2003

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No. 20 South Carolina will close out the regular season with a lengthy homestand at the Sam Daniel Tennis Center, where it is undefeated this season. The stretch of five matches in nine days begins on Friday, April 4 with a 2 p.m. match against 2002 National runner-up Georgia, currently ranked No. 19 in the nation. USC then hosts 42nd-ranked Tennessee on Sunday at 1p.m. to conclude the weekend of SEC matches. Four the five matches are against SEC rivals with the lone non-conference match, vs. Wake Forest, being a Region II opponent. All five opponennts are ranked 42nd or higher, including two schools in the top-ten.

The Gamecocks enter the weekend after a 5-2 win at Region II opponent Georgia Tech on Wednesday. USC has won 11 of its last 12 meetings with the Yellow Jackets and are 25-4 all-time vs. Tech.

South Carolina has won all eight of its home matches in 2003, including victories over four ranked opponents (No. 64 Furman, No. 23 LSU, No. 20 Arkansas and No. 30 Clemson). Last season, the Gamecocks were 11-3 in home matches, dropping the three matches to Top-25 opponents, two of which were 4-3 results.

Three Gamecocks are listed among the ITA singles rankings: Seth Rose (No. 67), Angelo Niculescu (No. 72), and Carl Wermee (No. 116). Rose plays at No. 1 singles and has 12 dual match victories this season, Niculescu began 2003 with a 12-match winning streak and Wermee is 10-1 in singles matches.

Georgia leads the all-time series with USC, 20-4. The Bulldogs won both meetings in 2002 while ranked No. 1, a 4-1 win in Athens and a 4-0 victory in the NCAA Regional at Knoxville. USC’s last win against Georgia was in 1994

Tennessee leads the all-time series with USC, 19-12. The Volunteers won the 2002 match, 6-1 in Knoxville. USC’s last victory over Tennessee came in 1999.