May 2, 2013

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina juniors Tsvetan Mihov and Chip Cox earned spots in the individual NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships. Mihov captured one of the 45 at-large spots in the 64-player singles event, while he will team with Cox in the 32-team doubles championship as well.

Mihov transferred to South Carolina this season and immediately impacted the Gamecocks’ success at the top of the singles lineup. His 15-10 record earned him a spot on the All-SEC Second Team and includes six wins over ranked opponents. Mihov closed the season in a flourish, winning five of his last eight matches, including two against top-10 players, to leap up the national rankings to No. 35. His six wins in the SEC regular season rank among the best seasons in South Carolina history as only three other Gamecocks have accumulated at least six SEC singles wins from the No. 1 spot.

Cox and Mihov play at the top of the Gamecocks’ doubles lineup and have been ranked in the top 50 since early March. The duo currently holds the No. 18 spot in the nation behind a 12-10 record highlighted by five wins over ranked opponents. The pair of juniors has twice defeated a top-10 tandem and has won three of its last five matches.

The SEC accounts for 19 of the 64 entries in the singles championship and 12 of the 32 spots in the doubles event. Half of the top eight singles seeds are from within the league.