March 30, 2007
AUBURN, Ala. — The University of South Carolina men’s tennis team dropped a Southeastern Conference road match at No. 44 Auburn, 5-2, Friday. The Gamecocks slipped to 11-8 overall and 2-5 in the SEC while the Tigers improved to 10-7 and 3-4 in league matches. South Carolina claimed an early lead in doubles, but Auburn responded by winning five of the six singles positions, including a trio of three-set matches to send the Gamecocks to the loss.
On the strength of wins at Nos. 1 and 3 doubles, South Carolina took a 1-0 lead in the match. The Gamecocks claimed an early advantage with an 8-4 win at No. 3 doubles as senior Pedro Rodriigues knocked and freshman Ivan Cressoni knocked off Pawel Dilaj and Lukas Marsoun. Auburn struck back with a win at No. 2 doubles but South Carolina clinched the doubles point when Yevgeny Supeko and Pedro Campos defeated Alex Schweizer and Robert Lathouwers, 9-7, at the No. 1 spot.
In singles play, Auburn won at No. 2 and No. 4 in straights sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Lathouwers defeated Rodrigues, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 2 singles and Marsoun was too much for Cressoni at the fourth position, winning 6-3, 6-2.
The Tigers pulled out a tough match at No. 5 singles as Tysrenov edged Carolina freshman David Wolff 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to put his team ahead 3-1. Auburn clinched the match with another three-set thriller at the No. 1 position. Supeko dropped the opening set to Schweizer, ranked No. 87 nationally, 6-3, but rallied back to take the second set, 7-5. Schweizer outlasted the Gamecock junior in the third set, winning 6-2.
The Tigers moved ahead 5-1 when Milan Krnjetin earned a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, triumph over Gamecock freshman Spencer Feldman at No. 5 singles. Campos topped Dilaj at No. 3 singles, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, to give the Gamecocks their second point.
Carolina plays the final leg of its weekend trip on Sunday, April 1, at No. 16 Alabama. Match time is set for 2 p.m. Eastern in Tuscaloosa.
Doubles
No. 1 Supeko/Campos (USC) def. Schweizer/Lathouwers (AU), 9-7
No. 2. Tsyrenov/Nugent (AU) def. Veeder/Stoddard (USC), 8-3
No. 3 Cressoni/Rodrigues (USC) def. Dilaj/Marsoun (AU), 8-4
South Carolina wins the doubles point
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
No. 1 #87 Alex Schweizer (AU) def. #117 Yevgeny Supeko (USC), 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
No. 2 #50 Robert Lathouwers (AU) def. Pedro Rodrigues (USC), 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 Pedro Campos (USC) def. Pawel Dilaj (AU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
No. 4 Lukas Marsoun (AU) def. Ivan Cressoni (USC), 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 Alexey Tsyrenov (AU) def. David Wolff (USC), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
No. 6 Milan Krnjetin (AU) def. Spencer Feldman (USC), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 5, 1, 6, 3
