Oct. 1, 2010

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Three players earned singles victories for South Carolina in the first day of competition in The Chowder Fest at Beren Tennis Center. All six Gamecocks faced off against players from host Harvard in the flighted tournament, and South Carolina claimed wins in the first three spots, led by junior Ivan Machado’s 6-1, 6-4 triumph in Flight 1.

Machado’s straight-set win over Jonathan Pearlman set the tone, and Alexander Kostanov followed with a convincing 6-2 first set over Andy Nguyen. The Gamecock sophomore battled through the second set, but closed it out with a late service break to win 7-5 in Flight 1 action. Sophomore Harry Menzies rounded out the victories for South Carolina, fighting through the most level of the team’s six matches for a 7-6, 7-5 win in Flight 3.

In the other three flights, it was the Crimson that got the better of play. In Flight 6, South Carolina’s Henry Walker stormed through the first set 6-1, but saw Mac McAnulty win the next sets 6-2, 6-1. Chris Sheehan suffered a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Casey MacMaster in Flight 4, while freshman Jake Bowling dropped his Flight 5 match to Alistar Felton by the same score.

Play in the event, which also features Minnesota and Notre Dame, continues Saturday morning with singles action at 11:30 a.m. and doubles play set to begin at 2:30 p.m.

Results

Flight 1
Ivan Machado def. Jonathan Pearlman (H) 6-1, 6-4

Flight 2
Alexander Kostanov (SC) def. Andy Nguyen (H) 6-2, 7-5

Flight 3
Harry Menzies (SC) def. Joshua Tchan (H) 7-6, 7-5

Flight 4
Casey MacMaster (H) def. Chris Sheehan (SC) 6-1, 6-2

Flight 5
Alistar Felton (H) def. Jake Bowling (SC) 6-1, 6-2

Flight 6
Mac McAnulty (H) def. Henry Walker (SC) 1-6, 6-2, 6-1