May 7, 2003

NCAA Men’s Tennis Bracket in PDF Format
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Complete NCAA Regional Notes in PDF Format
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No. 18 South Carolina faces No. 33 Rice in the first round of NCAA Regional play at Austin, Texas on Saturday, May 10 at 3 p.m. EDT. The winner of the match will meet the winner of the Texas-St. Bonaventure match on Sunday, May 11 for the right to advance to the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga.

USC’s 17-7 dual match record for a .708 winning percentage, was the school’s best since an .724 clip in 1998 (a 21-8 mark), Carolina was 11-2 at home this season, including an 11-match home win streak, 10-6 against ranked opponents and 8-0 against Region II foes. The Gamecocks finished in a three-way tie for fifth in the SEC.

FOLLOWING THE ACTION: Live scoring updates along with ticketing and other information about the Austin Regional can be found on the University of Texas athletics website at http://www.texassports.com/mainpages/tn_pages/2002_03/m_regional/index.html. Information on the 2003 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship can be found at http://www.ncaasports.com/tennis/mens.

USC AGAINST THE AUSTIN REGIONAL FIELD: The Gamecocks hold a 2-0 advantage over Rice in the all-time series. USC defeated the Owls 6-1 in the last meeting between the schools on March 8, 1999. Texas leads South Carolina 4-2 in their all-time series and the Longhorns won the last match between the school back in 1991. USC and St. Bonaventure have never met in men’s tennis.

USC AT THE NCAA REGIONALS: USC is making its tenth consecutive NCAA appearance as a team, its 17th regional in the last 19 years. Carolina reached the second round of the 2002 regional in Knoxville, defeating Georgia Tech 4-2 before falling to eventual national runner-up and then top-ranked Georgia, 4-0. The Gamecocks last advanced out of a regional and on the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1998. That year, USC defeated a trio of ACC opponents, Clemson, North Carolina and Virginia to advance before a loss to fourth-ranked Mississippi State.

ROSE SELECTED TO SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP: Seth Rose has been selected to the NCAA Singles Championship field of 64, beginning May 21 in Athens, Ga.. The senior will compete from the Mideast Region. It marks the second-straight year at the NCAA Individual Championships for Rose. Last season, he fell to Lance Mills of Nebraska in the round of 64.

SENIOR DUO EARNS ALL-SEC ACCOLADES: USC seniors Seth Rose and Angelo Niculescu each earned 2003 All-SEC honors. Both players were named to the conference’s second-team. Rose earned all-SEC accolades for the second consecutive season after posting 13 dual match victories and combing for 11 doubles wins during his final campaign. Niculescu, notched 14 dual match victories and totaled 14 doubles wins during the season.

RALLYING AGAINST THE RANKED: The Gamecocks have recorded a 10-6 record against ranked opponents during the 2003 dual match season. No. 64 Furman, No. 36 Mississippi State, No. 23 LSU, No. 20 Arkansas, No. 39 North Carolina, No. 30 Clemson, No. 23 Georgia Tech, No. 18 Georgia, No. 42 Tennessee and No. 21 Wake Forest all have fallen to the Gamecocks this season. The victory total against ranked teams includes three road wins (Mississippi State, North Carolina and Georgia Tech) USC has won eight of its last 12 matches against ranked opponents.

A PAIR OF PLAYERS RANKED BY THE ITA: Two Gamecocks are listed among the ITA singles rankings: Seth Rose (No. 48) and Angelo Niculescu (No. 69). Rose plays at No. 1 singles and has 13 dual match victories this season, 11 at No. 1, while Niculescu began 2003 with a 12-match winning streak and is second on the team with 14 dual match triumphs. USC had three players ranked in the preseason, Rose at No. 31, Niculescu at No. 37 and Marcus Westman at No. 89. In the 2002 final rankings, Rose was 49th and Niculescu 62nd.