Feb. 24, 2007

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina men’s tennis team fell to Elon, 4-1, on Saturday at the Sam Daniel Tennis Facility in Columbia, S.C. With the loss, the Gamecocks slipped to 6-3 on the season while Elon improved to 5-1.

South Carolina’s Yevgeny Supeko, who is ranked No. 58 in the latest Fila Collegiate Tennis singles rankings, and freshman Spencer Feldman were unavailable for the match due to injuries.

The two teams started with singles play, and Elon jumped ahead on nearly every court. At No. 1 singles, Damon Gooch defeated Gamecock senior Pedro Rodrigues, 6-0, 6-1. The Phoenix moved ahead 2-0 after claiming a win at No. 3 singles. Carolina’s Ivan Cressoni and Elon’s Mason Schermerhorn played a tight first set. Schermerhorn led 5-4, but the Gamecock freshman won the next two games to take a 6-5 lead. Schermerhorn responded to send the set to a tiebreaker and win it, 7-6. Schermerhorn completed the second set with ease, winning 6-0.

Elon extended its lead to 3-0 after Gustaf Asplundh topped South Carolina redshirt sophomore Thomas Stoddard, 6-2, 6-1 at No. 5 singles.

The Gamecocks got on the board when freshman Pedro Campos secured a 6-4, 6-1 victory at No. 2 singles. Campos improved to 16-7 in singles action, including a 6-3 mark this spring.

The Phoenix closed out the team victory with their fourth and final point at No. 6 singles when Austin Fenn defeated junior Joseph Veeder, 6-3, 6-3. The No. 4 match between Carolina freshman David Wolff and Sebastian Bredberg went unfinished with Bredberg leading, 6-4, 4-3.

The Gamecocks are back in action on Sunday with a 2 p.m. match against the Samford Bulldogs. In case of rain or inclement weather, the match will be played inside at the USC Indoor Fieldhouse.

Elon 4, South Carolina 1

Singles
No. 1 Damon Gooch (Elon) def. Pedro Rodrigues (SC), 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 Pedro Campos (SC) def. Anuwat Dalodom (Elon), 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 Mason Schermerhorn (Elon) def. Ivan Cressoni (SC), 7-6, 6-0
No. 4 Sebastian Bredberg (Elon) vs. David Wolff (SC), unfinished
No. 5 Gustaf Asplundh (Elon) def. Thomas Stoddard (SC), 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 Austin Fenn (Elon) def. Joseph Veeder (SC), 6-3, 6-3

Order of Finish: 1, 3, 5, 2, 6

(The match started with singles play.)