Sept. 17, 2010

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina men’s tennis opened its season Friday in a pair of tournaments. At the Duke Fab Four Invite at Cary Tennis Park, Alexander Kostanov and Ivan Machado scored a singles victories over Atlantic Coast Conference opponents. In the USC Upstate Fall Classic, Chris Sheehan and Henry Walker advanced in both singles and doubles action.

The Gamecocks struggled in doubles play at the Duke with both duos stumbling in their opening round and consolation matches. Singles action provided more success as Kostanov got things going with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Virginia Tech’s Lucas Oliveira in Section A. In Section B action, Machado rallied late in the first set then cruised in the second set of a 7-5, 6-1 win over Rafael Perez of NC State.

South Carolina freshman Jake Bowling also played in Section A, falling to East Tennessee State’s Gerga Teraz, who is ranked No. 93 in the country, 6-1, 6-3. In Section C play, Harry Menzies dropped a 6-2, 6-0 decision to Duke’s Fred Saba. All four players will be back in action on Saturday, taking the court at 10 a.m. in quarterfinal action.

In Spartanburg, Sheehan and Walker rolled through the Doubles A draw, topping Lenoir-Rhyne’s duo 8-6 and a Davidson tandem 8-3 to advance to the quarterfinals. In singles action, both players picked up victories. Sheehan moved past Stan Atema of Anderon College 6-3, 6-4. Walker scored his first official collegiate singles win by rallying back from a set down on Lucas Gobbi of USC Aiken to claim the match 5-7, 6-2, 7-5.

Results

Duke Fab Four Invite
Section B Doubles
Zach Hunter/William Parker (NC) def. Ivan Machado/Alexander Kostanov (SC) 8-5
Connor Sherwood/Danny Kreyman (WF) def. Ivan Machado/ Alexander Kostanov (SC) 8-4

Section C Doubles
Alex Rafiee/Cameron Ahari (NC) def. Jake Bowling/Harry Menzies (SC) 8-3
Andrew Carter/Viktor Maksimcuk (LOU) def. Jake Bowling/Harry Menzies (SC) 8-4

Section A Singles
#93 Grega Teraz (ETSU) def. Jake Bowling (SC) 6-1, 6-3
Alexander Kostanov (SC) def. Lucas Oliveira (VT) 6-4, 6-4

Section B Singles
Ivan Machado (SC) def. Rafael Perez (NCSU) 7-5, 6-1

Section C Singles
Fred Saba (Duke) def. Harry Menzies (SC) 6-2, 6-0

USC Upstate Fall Classic
Doubles A
Chris Sheehan/Henry Walker (SC) def. Tommy Brennam/Drew Hoffmann (LR) 8-6
Chris Sheehan/Henry Walker (SC) def. Arie Hefter/Kevin Moore (DAV) 8-3

Singles A
Chris Sheehan (SC) def. Stan Atema (Anderson) 6-3, 6-4

Singles B
Henry Walker (SC) def. Lucas Gobbi (USCA) 5-7, 6-2, 7-5