April 6, 2007

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 53 South Carolina men’s tennis team fell to No. 59 Kentucky, 4-2, on Friday at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center in Lexington, Ky. South Carolina won the doubles point, but the Wildcats rallied in singles to take the win. Kentucky improved to 13-11 overall and 3-6 in Southeastern Conference play while the Gamecocks dipped to 11-10 and 2-7.

In a match that saw two teams very evenly-matched, it was Kentucky that came away as the victor. Four sets went to tiebreakers in a match that lasted almost five hours.

The Gamecocks staked an early lead by winning the doubles point for the eighth time this season. Freshmen Pedro Campos and Ivan Cressoni collected an 8-3 victory over Jorge Jorge and Shane Collins at No. 3 doubles. Though South Carolina held an early advantage, Kentucky came out a winner at No. 1 doubles when Peter Bjork and Marcus Sundh defeated redshirt sophomore Thomas Stoddard and junior Thomas Stoddard. That left the No. 2 doubles contest as the deciding match. Junior Yevgeny Supeko and freshman David Wolff produced an 8-4 victory over Bruno Agostinelli and Kenny Hodge to give the Gamecocks the lead.

Kentucky responded with three straight set wins at the top of the singles lineup. Supeko fell to No. 90 Agostinelli, 6-3, 6-2, at the No. 1 position. Gamecock senior Pedro Rodrigues dropped the opening set, 6-1, to Sundh, but kept things close in the second before eventually surrendering the set in a in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (7), at the No. 2 spot. At the third singles position, Bjork triumphed over Campos, 6-1, 6-4.

Cressoni pulled South Carolina back to within at point at 3-2 when he completed a thrilling three-set win over Jorge at No. 4 singles, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (8), 6-3. The rookie improved to 6-0 in three-set matches this season. The Wildcats sealed the team victory when Collins won a tight match with Carolina freshman Spencer Feldman, 7-6 (10), 6-4, at No. 6 singles.

South Carolina returns to Columbia for an Easter Sunday match against the Vanderbilt Commodores. First serve is set for 1 p.m. at the Sam Daniel Tennis Center.

Singles
No. 1 #90 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) def. Yevgeny Supeko (SC) 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 Marcus Sundh (UK) def. Pedro Rodrigues (SC) 6-1, 7-6 (9-7)
No. 3 Peter Bjork (UK) def. Pedro Campos (SC) 6-1, 6-4
No. 4 Ivan Cressoni (SC) def. Jorge Jorge (UK) 6-7 (8-6), 7-6 (10-8), 6-3
No. 5 Kenny Hodge (UK) vs. David Wolff (SC) 6-7, 6-3, 2-1, susp.
No. 6 Shane Collins (UK) def. Spencer Feldman (SC) 7-6 (12-10), 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3, 4, 5

Doubles
No. 1 Bjork/Sundh (UK) def. Joe Veeder/Thomas Stoddard 8-4
No. 2 Supeko/Wolff (SC) def. Agostinelli/Hodge (UK) 8-4
No. 3 Campos/Cressoni (SC) def. Collins/Jorge (UK) 8-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2