Nov. 5, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina senior Diego Cubas suffered losses in both singles and doubles in the first round of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships Thursday at Yale University’s Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center. The first Gamecock to participate in the event since 2002, Cubas battled through a shoulder injury to play first-round matches in both doubles and singles.

In the morning, Cubas and sophomore Ivan Machado squared off with SEC rivals Tim Puetz and Alex Stamchev of Auburn in a rematch of a weekend battle in the South Carolina Fall Invitational. The No. 21-ranked Tiger tandem pulled out a second-straight win over the ninth-ranked Gamecock duo 8-6.

Cubas returned to the courts late Thursday afternoon for singles action. The 28th-ranked player in the country fell behind Illinois’ Dennis Nevolo, ranked No. 24 in the nation, 4-1 early in the set. Cubas could not recover from the untimely service break and fell 6-1, 6-2.

The Gamecocks will close out their fall schedule at the Auburn Classic, which begins Nov. 20.