Sept. 21, 2007

ATHENS, Ga. – The University of South Carolina men’s tennis team saw five of its eight singles participants and one of its two doubles teams earn day-one victories at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships on Friday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at the University of Georgia. Following a first-round bye, Carolina’s only seeded entry, No. 16 Pedro Campos, defeated Guillermo Gomez of Georgia Tech (3-6, 6-2, 6-4) in second-round play.

“This was a good start for our team in our first competition in nearly four months,” South Carolina head coach Kent DeMars said. “We will continue to work on our conditioning and practicing our skills throughout the fall season.”

Other notable USC singles wins include Thomas Stoddard who defeated Oliver Reynolds of Samford, 7-6(3), 6-0, while teammate Johannes Pulsfort earned a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Carlos Abalos of Samford. Also in singles action, Chris Sheehan advanced out of first-round play with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-0 victory over James Moye of Vanderbilt and followed with a second-round victory against Matthew Davis of Mercer, 6-2, 6-1.

In doubles action, Campos and Ivan Cressoni defeated Ahlgren and Valek of East Tennessee State, 8-4, for the lone doubles win for the Gamecocks.

South Carolina Agate:
Singles:
Javier Tori (USC-U) def. Ivan Cressoni (South Carolina), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
Thomas Stoddard (USC) def. Oliver Reynolds (Samford), 7-6(3), 6-0
James McArthur (Louisville) def. Johannes Pulsfort (USC), 6-4, 6-0
Johannes Pulsfort (USC) def. Carlos Abalos (Samford), 6-4, 6-0
Drake Bernstein (UGA) def. David Wolff (USC), 6-4, 6-2
Chris Sheehan (USC) def. James Moye (Vanderbilt), 7-5, 4-6, 6-0
Chris Sheehan (USC) def. James Moye (Vanderbilt), 7-5, 4-6, 6-0
Chris Sheehan (USC) def. Matthew Davis (Mercer), 6-2, 6-1

Doubles:
Campos-Cressoni (USC) def. Ahlgren-Velez (ETSU), 8-4
Dimitrov-Carleton (Duke) def. Stoddard-Veeder (USC), 8-3

Action continues Saturday with the second and third rounds of singles play and the second round of doubles.