April 9, 2008
CLEMSON, S.C. – The Gamecock men’s tennis team claimed a convincing road victory over archrival Clemson on Wednesday at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center. The Gamecocks lost only the doubles point in the match, claiming all 12 sets during singles play to secure the 6-1, non-conference victory. Senior Yevgeny Supeko’s straight-set victory at No. 1 singles proved the winning Carolina point of the match. The win for the Gamecocks marks the first over Clemson since the 2005 season, snapping a three-match losing streak to the Tigers.
“I can’t think of another coach that I respect more than Clemson head coach Chuck Kriese,” said South Carolina head coach Kent DeMars. “We have created a bond over the years and we’ve known each other for a long time. We played well today, and I was very pleased with our performance. I don’t think we could have played any better. After we lost the doubles point, I told my team to step up and they responded.”
Clemson claimed its lone point of the match in doubles play, collecting wins on courts one and two, while Carolina was able to capture a win on court three. Supeko and Thomas Stoddard gave the Gamecocks an early advantage, defeating Gera Boryachinskiy and Kevin Galloway at No. 3, 8-3, however, CU’s Carlos Alvarez and Kevin Fleck evened the playing field with an 8-3 win over USC’s Diego Cubas and Ivan Cressoni on court two and Rok Bizjak and Ike Belk defeated USC’s Pedro Campos and Johannes Pulsfort at the No. 1 position to take the point.
The story proved much different in singles play where Clemson failed to win even a set, as the Gamecocks rallied to win all six singles points for the first time since defeating Charlotte, 7-0, on Feb. 9. David Wolff was the first to finish for USC, collecting a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 6 over Tino Elgner, while always steady Pedro Campos followed on court three with a win over Boryachinskiy (6-2, 6-1) to give the Gamecocks a 2-1 overall edge in the match.
Cubas claimed a 7-5, 6-2 victory on court two over Belk and Supeko clinched the match, earning USC’s fourth point of the day with a straight set 6-3, 6-4 win over Carlos Alvarez on court one. Jaime Cuellar picked up a victory on court five over Galloway (6-2, 6-3) and Pulsfort completed the Carolina singles sweep with a win on court four over Fleck (6-3, 7-5).
The Gamecocks conclude their regular season on Saturday, traveling to face eighth-ranked Florida to conclude SEC play. The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. (ET).
South Carolina 6, Clemson 1
Doubles
1. Rok Bizjak/Ike Belk (CU) d. Pedro Campos/Johannes Pulsfort (SC) 8-4
2. Carlos Alvarez/Kevin Fleck (CU) d. Diego Cubas/Ivan Cressoni (SC) 8-3
3. Yevgeny Supeko/Thomas Stoddard (SC) d. Gera Boryachinskiy/Kevin Galloway (CU) 8-3
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. Yevgeny Supeko (SC) d. Carlos Alvarez (CU) 6-3, 6-4
2. Diego Cubas (SC) d. Ike Belk (CU) 7-5, 6-2
3. Pedro Campos (SC) d. Gera Boryachinskiy (CU) 6-2, 6-1
4. Johannes Pulsfort (SC) d. Kevin Fleck (CU) 6-3, 7-5
5. Jaime Cuellar (SC) d. Kevin Galloway (CU) 6-2, 6-3
6. David Wolff (SC) d. Tino Elgner (CU) 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 2, 1, 5, 4
