March 4, 2004

COLUMBIA, S.C. –

Weekly Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

The No. 19 South Carolina men’s tennis team opens up Southeastern Conference play Friday, hosting the No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats at the Sam Daniel Tennis Center at 2 p.m.

SCOUTING REPORT
USC began an onslaught of ranked opponents this week, beginning with a Tuesday loss against No. 36 North Carolina, 6-1. The Gamecocks now begin conference play Friday, hosting No. 15 Kentucky and then travel to No. 22 Vanderbilt on Sunday.

TOUGH ROAD VS. NO. 36 NORTH CAROLINA
Just hours after rising in the rankings to 19th in the national polls, the South Carolina Gamecocks fell prey to an upset bid, falling to No. 36 North Carolina, 6-1. This marks the first loss of the year for South Carolina, dropping their record to 10-1, just after recording their best start since 1984.

AGAINST NO. 15 KENTUCKY
UK opens up SEC play at USC Friday with a 5-3 mark on the year … Kentucky is 0-3 vs. ranked opponents this season … Kentucky leads the all-time series vs. USC with a 17-8 mark … Kentucky’s Jesse Witten is ranked 14th in singles play this year … UK has won two straight matches over USC with the last Gamecock win coming in 2001, 4-2.

AGAINST NO. 22 VANDERBILT
Vanderbilt is 5-2 and ranked 25th entering this weekend’s play … The Commodores host No. 4 Florida Friday then host No. 22 South Carolina Sunday … The Dores are 0-1 vs. ranked opponents this season … Carolina leads the all-time series over VU, 10-4 … VU won the 2003 match, 5-1.

HEAD COACH Kent DeMars
Career Record: 519-273 (.655), 31 years
Record at USC: 305-202 (.602), 20 years
Entering his 20th year at the helm of the Carolina men’s tennis program, Head Coach Kent DeMars recently reached his 300th win as the Gamecock coach. This milestone was achieved on Feb. 15 when USC topped the Charlotte 49ers, 7-0, in a regional matchup in Columbia. Just last year, Coach DeMars notched his 500th career win as a collegiate head coach as Carolina upended No. 36 Mississippi State in Starkville on Feb. 28, 4-3.

At USC, DeMars has guided teams to 10 consecutive NCAA bids, 17 appearances in 19 seasons, and a No. 14 average national ranking. He has been named Region II Coach of the Year seven times in the past 16 seasons and was the 1989 NCAA Division I Coach of the Year.