Oct. 19, 2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Advancing to the finals, South Carolina senior Diego Cubas was narrowly edged out by top-seeded Clay Donato of North Carolina in the ITA/Wilson Carolinas Regional at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center Monday afternoon. The nation’s 28th-ranked singles player, Cubas upheld his No. 2 seed in the tournament, winning four of his five matches in straight sets en route to the final.

Cubas opened the day by dispatching North Carolina’s Jose Hernandez 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals. The Gamecocks’ top singles player dropped the first set of the final but leveled the match with a hard-fought 8-6 win in the second-set tie-breaker. The final set of the match was decided by a single service break, which Donato, ranked 16th in the nation, rode to victory.

The Gamecocks have this weekend off before returning to the courts to host the South Carolina Fall Invitational at Sam Daniel Tennis Center. The three-day event begins on Fri., Oct. 30.

Results

Singles
(28) Diego Cubas (SC) def. Jose Hernandez (NC) 6-4, 6-4
(16) Clay Donato (NC) def. (28) Cubas (SC) 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4