Aug. 28, 2012
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina head men’s tennis coach Josh Goffi announced today that Tsvetan Mihov (pronounced SVEE-ton MEE-hov) of Sofia, Bulgaria, has signed a Financial Aid Agreement to attend the University and play for the Gamecocks. A transfer from Oklahoma, Mihov will have two years of eligibility beginning with the 2012-13 season.
“We recruited Tsvetan because he is a very good player with a lot of experience, which is something we’re trying to get into this team,” Goffi said. “In this year’s recruiting, Coach Matt Lucas and I were looking for someone who could show our young players how to break through the tough pecking order in the SEC. We think we found that in Tsvetan because of the experience he gained throughout his playing career.
“Our squad made great strides last year, and we will continue to do so because of our commitment to be the best. I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys returning, and they are exactly the type of people that make a great team great. But we are still pretty young, especially in tennis terms. Most of the teams we play have players more experienced in big-time match play, and we are still a little green in that area. Because of the way this team is constantly improving, we will inevitably put ourselves in positions to break through this spring. With Tsvetan’s added maturity and leadership, we should be better able to capitalize on those opportunities.”
In two seasons at Oklahoma, Mihov saw his singles and doubles rankings climb as high as No. 38 in the nation. He recorded at least 20 singles victories in each of his two seasons, including nine dual-match wins in 2012 playing mostly in the No. 3 spot in the Sooners’ order. Last fall, he won the USTA/ITA Central Region title to earn a spot in the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships. As a freshman, he went 13-9 in dual matches as the Sooners’ No. 5 or 6 player.
On the doubles court, Mihov went 25-10 last season and reached the quarterfinals of the ITA Men’s All-American Championships with Peerakit Siributwong. Playing in the No. 2 spot in every dual match for the Sooners, the duo went 17-6.
Prior to playing college tennis, Mihov was the 2009 Bulgarian national champion and part of the 2010 Davis Cup team, helping Bulgaria to the doubles point. He was a singles semifinalist at the 2009 F7 Futures and a quarterfinalist in the 2008 F5 Futures, climbing as high as No. 934 in the ATP rankings.
