Oct. 5, 2008
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina men’s tennis proved to be an inhospitable host on the court as the Gamecocks claimed three of the four doubles flights and four of the eight singles flights in the South Carolina Fall Invitational this weekend at the Sam Daniel Tennis Facility. Senior Thomas Stoddard and Diego Cubas were double winners for South Carolina, claiming flight victories in both doubles and singles with Cubas putting together a perfect weekend of both singles and doubles.
“Our first competition since SEC in April and against three quality teams our results were better than I expected,” South Carolina head coach Kent DeMars said. “I was pleased with performance and enthusiasm throughout the weekend.”
On Sunday, Cubas opened his final day of undefeated play by pairing with Johannes Pulsfort for an efficient 8-1 win over North Carolina’s Brennan Boyajian and Andrew Crone in Flight 1. Junior Pedro Campos and freshman Ivan Machado battled out an 8-5 win in Flight 2, topping UNC’s team of Zach Hunter and Cameron Ahari. In Flight 4, Chris Sheehan and David Wolf needed a tie-breaker but claimed a 9-8 (4) win over the Tar Heel tandem of Mclane Wilkinson and Taylor Meyer. The victories in Flights 1 and 4 delivered tournament titles, while Joseph Veeder and Thomas Stoddard collected the Flight 3 title despite dropping an 8-6 decision to Luke Mojica and Alex Rafiee of North Carolina.
In singles, Cubas played one of the last matches to finish and one of the most dramatic of the tournament. After winning the first-set tie-breaker over Boyajian, the Gamecock junior saw his freshman opponent scrape out a 7-5 win in the second set. The more experienced Cubas overpowered Boyajian in the third set to pick up the 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-2 victory and wrap up the Flight 1 Singles title.
Campos was much more efficient in collecting the Flight 2 Singles crown, dispatching Andrew Crone of North Carolina 6-0, 6-3 on Sunday to finish the tournament with a 3-0 singles record. Pulsfort and Mojica battled for the Flight 3 title, with the visitor picking up the decisive 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 win as both players sought the help of athletic trainers during the grueling final set.
Machado continued his impressive South Carolina debut, winning the Flight 4 Singles after a convincing 6-1, 6-0 victory over North Carolina’s Cameron Ahari to complete his 3-0 singles weekend. Like Flight 2, Flight 5 Singles came down to Sunday’s matchup between Wolff and Hunter with the visiting Hunter posting a 6-4, 6-3 victory. North Carolina also won Flight 6 Singles as Rafiee continued his undefeated singles weekend with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Veeder.
Stoddard swept his flights with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win over North Carolina’s Taylor Meyer in Flight 7 Singles on Sunday. Stoddard was 2-1 on the weekend. In Flight 8 Singles, Wilkinson topped Sheehan 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, leaving the flight title to Louisville’s Tim Barnoud.
South Carolina is back in action next weekend, opening the Las Vegas Classic on Fri., Oct. 10, in Las Vegas, Nev.
Flight Winners
Doubles 1 – Diego Cubas/Johannes Pulsfort, South Carolina
Doubles 2 – Robert Rotaru/Alejandro Calligari, Louisville
Doubles 3 – Joseph Veeder/Thomas Stoddard, South Carolina
Doubles 4 – Chris Sheehan/David Wolff, South Carolina
Singles 1 – Diego Cubas, South Carolina
Singles 2 – Pedro Campos, South Carolina
Singles 3 – Luke Mojica, North Carolina
Singles 4 – Ivan Machado, South Carolina
Singles 5 – Zach Hunter, North Carolina
Singles 6 – Alex Rafiee, North Carolina
Singles 7 – Thomas Stoddard, South Carolina
Singles 8 – Tim Barnoud, Louisville
Sunday Results
Flight 1 Doubles
Diego Cubas/Johannes Pulsfort (SC) def. Brennan Boyajian/Andrew Crone (NC) 8-1
Flight 2 Doubles
Pedro Campos/Ivan Machado (SC) def. Zach Hunter/Cameron Ahari (NC) 8-5
Flight 3 Doubles
Luke Mojica/Alex Rafiee (NC) def. Joseph Veeder/Thomas Stoddard (SC) 8-6
Flight 4 Doubles
Chris Sheehan/David Wolff (SC) def. Mclane Wilkinson/Taylor Meyer (NC) 9-8 (4)
Flight 1 Singles
Viktor Maksimcuk (UL) def. Brad Williams (Ark.) 6-2, 6-2
Diego Cubas (SC) def. Brennan Boyajian (NC) 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-2
Flight 2 Singles
Robert Rotaru (UL) def. Tyler Tarnasky (Ark.) 6-2, 6-2
Pedro Campos (SC) def. Andrew Crone (NC) 6-0, 6-3
Flight 3 Singles
Alejandro Calligari (UL) def. Taylor King (Ark.) 6-2, 6-3
Luke Mojica (NC) def. Johannes Pulsfort (SC) 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3
Flight 4 Singles
Andrew Carter (UL) def. Nicholas Spinazze (Ark.) 7-5, 6-3
Ivan Machado (SC) def. Cameron Ahari (NC) 6-1, 6-0
Flight 5 Singles
Matt Walters (Ark.) def. Tim Barnoud (UL) 6-0, 6-0
Zach Hunter (NC) def. David Wolff (SC) 6-4, 6-3
Flight 6 Singles
Adam Donaldson (UL) def. Connor Smith (Ark.) 1-6, 7-6 (4), 1-0 (7)
Alex Rafiee (NC) def. Joseph Veeder (SC) 6-2, 6-3
Flight 7 Singles
Sumit-Prakash Gupta (UL) def. Tariq Ismail (Ark.) 6-4, 6-3
Thomas Stoddard (SC) def. Taylor Meyer (NC) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Flight 8 Singles
Mclane Wilkinson (NC) def. Chris Sheehan (SC) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
