Aug. 7, 2012

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – South Carolina men’s tennis junior Chip Cox teamed with Gordon Watson to storm through Tuesday’s round of 16 doubles match, advancing to the quarterfinals of the USTA Boys 18 National Championships. The duo picked up a decisive 6-0, 6-3 victory over the tournament’s 12th-seeded duo.

“Chip and Gordon are really starting to mesh as a team after a few matches,” South Carolina assistant coach Matt Lucas said. “They played solid, aggressive doubles today and had great energy. It should be fun to watch them against the top seed in the tournament tomorrow.”

Cox and Watson, a sophomore at University of Florida, jumped on Nolan Paige and Aaron Revzin early in the match and never let up. With solid serving and a steady return game, the sixth-seeded tandem sprinted to a 6-0 first-set victory. Their opponent steadied in the second set, but Cox and Watson did not let up, sealing their quarterfinal berth with a 6-3 second set.

In Wednesday’s quarters, Cox and Watson will take on the tournament top seed in Mitchell Krueger and Shane Vinsant.

Follow the USTA Boys’ 18 National Championships at http://ustaboys.com/draws.html.