April 12, 2008
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The South Carolina men’s tennis team suffered a 4-3 loss to eighth-ranked Florida on Saturday to conclude its regular season. The Gamecocks finish their regular season with a 10-12 overall record, including a 1-10 mark in Southeastern Conference play. Florida improves to 13-6 with an 8-3 record against league opponents. Pairings for the upcoming SEC Tournament will be released on Sunday from the league office.
The Gamecocks won their first doubles point of the season in SEC play, sweeping all three courts to earn the point. The team of Diego Cubas and Ivan Cressoni gave Carolina an early advantage on court two, defeating Florida’s Tyler Hochwalt and Erik Corace, 8-5. USC secured the point with an 8-3 victory on court three as the duo of Yevgeny Supeko and Thomas Stoddard defeated UF’s Jeff Dadamo and Johnny Hamui, while USC’s Pedro Campos and Johannes Pulsfort completed the Gamecock sweep with an 8-6 win on court one over Nestor Briceno and Alex Lacroix.
South Carolina entered SEC singles play with an advantage for the first time this season, but the Gators quickly evened the score with a victory on court five as Horace defeated David Wolff in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Carolina answered, as Campos collected his team-leading seventh SEC victory of the season on court three, collecting a straight set 7-6, 6-2 win over No. 51 Lacroix. Pulsfort fell on court four to Hochwalt (5-7, 6-3, 6-4) and Supeko suffered a loss to fourth-ranked Greg Ouellette (6-7, 6-3, 6-2) on court one for a 3-2 Gator lead.
USC’s Jaime Cuellar and Cubas each battled in their respective singles match, trying to gain an advantage for the Gamecocks. Down one set to Hamui, Cuellar battled back to take the second set to even the match, but Hamui proved too strong at the end, winning the point with a 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 win. Cubas was able to capture a victory on court two over 89th-ranked Briceno. Cubas lost the first set, but rallied to take the final two sets (5-7, 6-3, 6-4), earning his second consecutive SEC victory.
Seeding for the 2008 SEC Tournament will be announced by the league office on Sunday. Please visit www.GamecocksOnline.com for further updates.
Complete results are listed below:
Singles:
1. Greg Ouellete (UF) def. Yevgeny Supeko (USC), 6-7, 6-3, 6-2
2. Diego Cubas (USC) def. Nestor Briceno (UF), 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
3. Pedro Campos (USC) def. Alex Lacroix (UF), 7-6, 6-2
4. Tyler Hochwalt (UF) def. Johannes Pulsfort (USC), 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
5. Erik Corace (UF) def. David Wolff (USC), 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
6. Johnny Hamui (UF) def. Jaime Cuellar (USC), 6-7, 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: 5, 3, 4, 1, 6, 2
Doubles:
1. Campos/Pulsfort def. Briceno/Lacroix, 8-6
2. Cubas/Cressoni (USC) def. Hochwalt/Corace (UF), 8-5
3. Supeko/Stoddard (USC) def. Dadamo/Hamui (UF), 8-3
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
