April 7, 2004
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SCOUTING REPORT
South Carolina (14-8, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) takes another mid-week break this week as they host the No. 34 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (13-6, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) Thursday at 2 p.m. USC then hits the road as they travel to No. 8 Florida to face the Gators at 1 p.m. Saturday.
GAMECOCKS UPEND No. 3 OLE MISS, No. 31 MISSISSIPPI STATE
South Carolina turned the collegiate tennis world upside down this past weekend, notching two huge upset victories. Carolina first pulled out a decisive 4-1 victory over No. 3 Ole Miss Friday, then took down No. 31 Mississippi State, 5-2, on Sunday. The last time Carolina defeated both schools from the state of Mississippi was 1999.
AGAINST No. 34 GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS
No. 34 Georgia Tech enters Thursday’s match with a record of 13-6, 5-3 in the ACC. Carolina leads the all-time series against GT, 25-4. The last time the Yellow Jackets defeated Carolina was a 4-3 win in 2001. Last year, Carolina topped Georgia Tech 5-2 on April 2, 2003 in Atlanta.
AT No. 8 FLORIDA GATORS
No. 13 Florida enters Saturday’s match with Carolina with a mark of 12-6, 5-3 in the SEC. Florida currently holds a decisive 12-3 lead in the all-time series against USC and has won the past five matches. The Gators topped South Carolina last year on April 11th, 5-2 in Columbia, while they were ranked second in the nation.
CAROLINA VAULTS BACK INTO THE POLLS
After falling out of the national rankings on March 23, USC has vaulted back into the national polls. After being ranked 56th on March 30, two wins over No. 3 Ole Miss and No. 31 Miss. State aided Carolina’s jump 20 spots up to 36th.
GAMECOCKS TAKE DOWN No. 3
The Gamecocks celebrated April 2 as Carolina, ranked 56th, notched a decisive 4-1 victory over third-ranked Ole Miss. The loss gave the Rebels their first conference loss of the 2004 season and their first loss since February 7.
THE SWEDISH INVASION
South Carolina has three Swedes on its 2004 roster – sophomore Tom Eklund and seniors Carl Wermee and Marcus Westman, high school teammates at the Tretorn Tennis Academy. In singles play this season, Eklund is currently leading the Gamecocks with eight victories – a victory in every single match.
USC STARTS SEASON ON LONG WIN STREAK
The Gamecocks began the 2004 dual match season on a ten-game win streak that included five 7-0 wins and a 4-0 victory. Carolina opened the 2003 campaign by winning 11 of its first 12 dual matches.
COMPETING AGAINST THE BEST
South Carolina enters the 2004 season with a daunting task – one of the toughest schedules in the nation. The Gamecocks are competing agaist a Southeastern Conference slate that sent all 12 teams to the NCAA Tournament in the past two seasons. Meanwhile, two of those 11 opponents are currently ranked in the top 10 with all 12 of the teams ranked in the top 40. Seven of the 12 SEC schools are ranked in the top 25.
The Gamecocks face ranked opponent in all of their remaining matches this season, including an April 2 match up with second-ranked Ole Miss.
PROGRAM REACHES WIN No. 700
With a 5-2 defeat of College of Charleston, the Gamecocks recorded the 700th win in the history of the program. That record dates back to 1964 when the Gamcocks first started competing in tennis. The program’s first win came in 1965 as USC went 3-14 that year, going 0-10 in their first year in existence. That milestone is not surprising, however, as the Gamecocks have been nationally ranked in the final polls during each of Head Coach Kent DeMars 19 year tenure. Moreover, the Garnet and Black have competed in the NCAA Tournament each of the past 10 years.
FACING THE BEST OVER THE YEARS
Since joining the Southeastern Conference in 1992, 131 of the Gamecocks’ 331 matches have been against Top 25 teams while 102 of those 131 matches have been against Southeastern Conference opponents.
