Nov. 7, 2008

ATHENS, Ga. – South Carolina men’s tennis went 7-7 in singles play and 1-2 in doubles action in the first day of the Bulldog Scramble, hosted by University of Georgia. Junior Pedro Campos was the lone Gamecock to sweep his singles matches as he topped his opponents from Georgia Tech and Georgia. Junior Diego Cubas and Johannes Pulsfort combined for Carolina’s doubles victory, knocking off the duo from Kentucky.

The day began slowly for the Gamecocks with Campos and freshman Ivan Machado suffering an 8-4 loss to the Georgia Tech duo of Kevin King and Ryan Smith. Cubas and Pulsfort scored an 8-4 win over Kentucky’s tandem of Will Beck and Patrick Bandy to get the Gamecocks on the board. Mississippi’s Otto Sauer and Kalle Norberg rounded out the doubles action with an 8-4 win over Carolina’s Thomas Stoddard and Joseph Veeder.

In singles play, Veeder scored the first win for the Gamecocks after Pulsfort dropped a 3-6, 2-6 decision to Georgia’s Javier Garrapiz and Wolff suffered a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 4-6 loss to the Bulldogs’ Christian Vitulli. Veeder dropped his first set against Georgia’s Alex Hill 6-7 (6) then took the next two sets 6-2, 6-2 for the win.

Cubas kept the winning going with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 win over Georgia Tech’s Eliot Potvin, and Machado posted a convincing 6-2, 6-2 victory over the Yellow Jackets’ Miguel Muguruza. Chris Sheehan narrowly lost his first set against Tech’s Austin Roebuck 6-7 (4), but Roebuck rolled in the second set 6-1. Stoddard collected a hard-fought three-set victory over Kentucky’s Shane Collins, despite dropping the first set 2-6. The senior stormed through the second set 6-1 before fighting off Collins 7-6 (8) in the final set.

Campos completed his day’s singles sweep with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Vitulli (Georgia). Cubas, Machado, Veeder and Stoddard each dropped to .500 for the day with losses in their second matches. Cubas was trailing Norberg (Ole Miss) 5-7, 1-0 when he was forced to retire with an injury. Machado dropped a 1-6, 4-6 decision to Georgia Tech’s King. Doug Kenny of Georgia Tech topped Veeder 6-2, 6-0, and Stoddard fell to the Roebuck (Georgia Tech) 6-4, 6-3. Sheehan also got back to .500 for the afternoon with a 7-5, 6- win over Collins (Kentucky).

South Carolina is back in action at the five-team event on Sat., Nov. 8, beginning at 10 a.m.

South Carolina Results

Doubles
King/Smith (GT) def. Campos/Machado (SC), 8-4
Cubas/Pulsfort (SC) def. Beck/Bandy (UK), 8-4
Sauer/Norberg (OM) def. Stoddard/Veeder (SC), 8-4

Singles
Garrapiz (UGA) def. Pulsfort (SC), 6-3, 6-2
Vitulli (UGA) def. Wolff (SC), 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4
Veeder (SC) def. Hill (UGA), 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-2
Cubas (SC) def. Potvin (GT), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
Campos (SC) def. Smith (GT), 6-1, 7-5
Machado (SC) def. Muguruza (GT), 6-2, 6-2
Roebuck (GT) def. Sheehan (SC), 7-6(4), 6-1
Stoddard (SC) def. Collins (UK), 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(8)
Campos (SC) def. Vitulli (UGA), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
King (GT) def. Machado (SC), 6-1, 6-4
Norberg (OM) def. Cubas (SC), 7-5, 0-1, ret., inj.
Kenny (GT) def. Veeder (SC), 6-2, 6-0
Roebuck (GT) def. Stoddard (SC), 6-4, 6-3
Sheehan (SC) def. Collins (UK), 7-5, 6-4