March 2, 2008
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The South Carolina men’s tennis team suffered a 4-3 setback to No. 29 Vanderbilt in Southeastern Conference play on Sunday at the Currey Tennis Center in Nashville. The Gamecocks fall to 7-4 overall with a 0-2 mark in the SEC. The Commodores improve to 8-2, 1-1 following the opening weekend of league action.
Vanderbilt secured the doubles point with victories at the No. 2 and 3 positions to open the day. Vijay Paul and Adam Baker collected VU’s first match with an 8-4 victory at No. 3 over Carolina’s Thomas Stoddard and Ivan Cressoni. Teammates Nick Cromydas and Bryant Salcedo followed, defeating USC’s duo of Pedro Campos and Johannes Pulsfort, 8-6, to capture the point. USC’s lone doubles victory came at the No. 1 position, as Yevgeny Supeko and Diego Cubas defeated Ryan Preston and Evan Dufaux, 8-6.
Carolina found its momentum during singles action where Diego Cubas upset No. 68 Vijay Paul in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2 and teammate David Wolff gave USC the slight advantage with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Alex Zotov at No. 6. Campos extended his singles winning streak to four, collecting a 6-3, 6-2 win over Bryant Salcedo at No. 3 to extend Carolina’s lead to 3-1. Supeko fell at No. 1 and the Commodores quickly regrouped, as Dufaux posted a comeback win at No. 5 (2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4) over Cressoni and Pulsfort lost a tough three-set battle at No. 4 (2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(3)) to Cromydas for the 4-3 VU final.
The Gamecocks continue SEC play on Friday, March 7, hosting the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs at 2 p.m. at the Sam Daniel Tennis Facility. Livestats will be available via www.GamecocksOnline.com.
Complete results are listed below.
Doubles
1. Diego Cubas/Yevgeny Supeko (USC) Ryan Preston/Evan Dufaux (VU), 8-6
2. Nick Cromydas/Bryant Salcedo (VU) def. Pedro Campos/Johannes Pulsfort (USC), 8-6
3. Vijay Paul/Adam Baker (VU) def. Thomas Stoddard/Ivan Cressoni (USC), 8-4 Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. No. 97 Ryan Preston (VU) def. Yevgeny Supeko (USC), 6-2, 5-3, default
2. Diego Cubas (USC) def. No. 68 Vijay Paul (VU), 6-3, 6-2
3. Pedro Campos (USC) def. Bryant Salcedo (VU), 6-3, 6-2
4. Nick Cromydas def. Johannes Pulsfort (USC), 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(3)
5. Evan Dufaux (VU) def. Ivan Cressoni (USC), 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4
6. David Wolff (USC) def. Alex Zotov (VU) 7-5, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 3, 1, 5, 4
