Feb. 28, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 43 South Carolina swept a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday at the USC Indoor Field House, topping Gardner-Webb 7-0 before dispatching Appalachian State 6-1. All 10 Gamecocks on the roster saw time on the court with Pedro Campos, Ivan Cressoni and Johannes Pulsfort each collecting a pair of singles victories. With the wins, South Carolina extended its win streak to six matches and pushed its season record to 10-1 heading into SEC play next weekend.

South Carolina established itself early against Gardner-Webb, sweeping all three doubles matches within an hour. With the Gamecocks shaking up their usual lineup, junior Ivan Cressoni struck first in singles with an overpowering 6-0, 6-1 win in the No. 4 slot. Pedro Campos needed little more time to dispatch Evgeny Slesrev 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 1 position, and senior Jaime Cuellar rallied back from a break in the first set to claim a 6-4, 6-2 win over Andrew Veeder to seal the definitive fourth point for the Gamecocks.

The doubles point came just as easily against Appalachian State, but the Gamecocks had to fight for most points on the singles side. Campos was the lone Gamecock to roll through his match, winning 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 2 spot. Appalachian State’s Bobby Lake used his power to take capitalize on the serving woes of Diego Cubas to score a 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 1 singles for the Mountaineers, narrowing the team’s gap to one point. Ivan Machado was steady at No. 3 in a 6-3, 6-4 win over Peter Jacobs, leaving the Gamecocks with just one point to clinch the victory.

The match came down to a hotly contested No. 4 contest between Cressoni and Lee Floyd. The players battled with their racquets and mouths as several calls were appealed to the chair umpire throughout the first set. Cressoni prevailed in the tie-breaker to earn an early lead. The match was on serve in the second with Cressoni up 4-3 and Floyd serving. The Mountaineer senior fought off a match point with a good volley and eventual won the game after going to deuce twice to level at 4-4. Cressoni’s won his service game when Floyd hit a shot wide at deuce and then netted a volley to give the one-game edge to Cressoni. On his next service game, Floyd saw Cressoni get on top 15-30 with a big forehand winner, and the Gamecock junior had double match point when Floyd mishit a forehand. A backhand into the net left Cressoni with another shot at match point, which he collected emphatically with an overhead slam, clinching the team victory for South Carolina.

The Gamecocks open SEC play next weekend, hosting No. 34 Vanderbilt at 2 p.m. on Fri., March 6, and No. 21 Kentucky on Sun., March 8, at 1 p.m. Both matches are scheduled for Sam Daniel Tennis Facility.

No. 43 South Carolina 7, Gardner-Webb 0

Doubles: (Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1)
1. Pedro Campos/Ivan Cressoni (SC) def. Evgeny Slesarev/Rafael Altmayer (GW) 8-5
2. Jaime Cuellar/Johannes Pulsfort (SC) def. Carlos Quijano/Jamie Lawlor (GW) 8-1
3. Joe Veeder/Chris Sheehan (SC) def. Ryan Bernthal/Andrew Veeder (GW) 8-3

Singles: (Order of Finish: 4, 1, 2, 3, 6, 5)
1. Pedro Campos (SC) def. Evgeny Slesrev (GW) 6-1, 6-1
2. Jaime Cuellar (SC) def. Andrew Veeder (GW) 6-4, 6-2
3. Johannes Pulsfort (SC) def. Rafael Altmayer (GW) 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (7)
4. Ivan Cressoni (SC) def. Jamie Lawlor (GW) 6-0, 6-1
5. David Wolff (SC) def. Carlos Quijano (GW) 6-7 (4), 6-4, 1-0 (3)
6. Chris Sheehan (SC) def. Ryan Bernthal (GW) 6-1, 7-5

No. 43 South Carolina 6, Appalachian State 1

Doubles: (Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2)
1. Diego Cubas/Ivan Machado (SC) def. Bobby Lake/Alain Humblet (ASU) 8-2
2. Jaime Cuellar/Johannes Pulsfort (SC) def. Peter Jacobs/Trent Constance (ASU) 8-5
3. Joe Veeder/Thomas Stoddard (SC) def. Lee Floyd/Phillip Kloc (ASU) 8-2

Singles: (Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6)
1. Bobby Lake (ASU) def. Diego Cubas (SC) 6-3, 6-2
2. Pedro Campos (SC) def. Trent Constance (ASU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Ivan Machado (SC) def. Peter Jacobs (ASU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Ivan Cressoni (SC) def. Lee Floyd (ASU) 7-6 (5), 6-4
5. Thomas Stoddard (SC) def. Phillip Kloc (ASU) 1-6, 6-3, 1-0 (6)
6. Johannes Pulsfort (SC) def. Alain Humblet (ASU) 6-3, 6-2