2005 SEC Men’s Tennis Tournament Draw
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April 17, 2005

Columbia, S.C. – The 17th-ranked USC Gamecock men’s tennis squad continued its season of milestones on Sunday, when they earned the fourth seed and a first round bye in this week’s SEC Tournament in Athens, Ga. The No. 4 seed is a best for Carolina (18-8, 6-5 SEC) since joining the conference in 1992. The Gamecocks will face the winner of Tennessee-Alabama in Friday’s quarterfinals, beginning at 12 p.m.

USC has accumulated several season bests in their 2005 campaign. The 18 regular season wins are the most for a Carolina team since 1994 (19 wins) and the six SEC wins are a school record in that conference. The Gamecocks have been tough on their home courts at the Sam Daniel Tennis Center and the USC Indoor Facility, putting together a 10-3 record, including wins over then-No. 9 LSU (3/6), No. 25 Wake Forest (3/22), No. 17 Tennessee (4/1), No. 8 Georgia (4/3), and No. 24 Clemson (4/6).

In individual action, senior Ben Atkinson, junior Tom Eklund, and freshman Jaime Cuellar have all achieved milestones this season. Carolina’s only senior, Atkinson, has put together 126 career wins in singles and doubles combined, picking up win No. 100 at Davidson early in the season. Junior Eklund, the last member of USC’s 2004 “Swedish Invasion,” has put together his second straight 20-win season in singles, and is just two victories shy of his career-high of 23. Eklund, a native of Hollviken, Sweden, is also the first Gamecock to ever be named SEC Player of the Week twice in a career, after receiving the honor twice in five weeks this season. Freshman Jaime Cuellar, who has recorded the best ever start to a career for a Carolina freshman, has posted 25 singles wins this year, extending the Gamecock streak of at having least one 25-match winner to eleven straight years.

The 2005 SEC regular season awards will be announced on Tuesday, April 19 at 8 p.m. (ET). The only exception is the SEC Good Works Team, which will be announced on Monday afternoon. All awards will be presented at the SEC Awards Banquet Wednesday evening in Athens, Ga.

The 2005 SEC Tournament begins Thursday morning at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Georgia. The semifinals will be held at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 23 and the championships will conclude with the final at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 24. Live stats will be available for all of USC’s matches in the tournament at www.uscsports.com. Tickets are available at the gate or in advance by calling UGA’s ticket office at 877-542-1231.