July 23, 2010

Former University of South Carolina men’s tennis player Angelo Niculescu suffered a three-set loss to No. 2 seed Cecil Mamit in the opening round of the US Open National Playoffs – Men’s Championship. Niculescu, the winner out of the Pacific Northwest section, won the first set 6-3 but saw Mamit storm back to claim the second set 6-2 and go on to close out the final set 6-0.

In addition to winning the Pacific Northwest sectional, Niculescu added a win in the Umpqua Valley Championship the final week of June. He reached the semifinals in doubles at the event as well. He claimed the singles title at the RDAdventures Salem Summer Classic this season, while also advancing to the final in the 49th Annual Pacific Continental Bank Open and the 112th GPTC/Nike Tennis Championships of Oregon

Niculescu played two seasons for the Gamecocks, joining the program for the 2001-02 season as a junior. He won 62.5 percent of his singles matches over his career, going 45-27.