May 21, 2013
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina juniors Tsvetan Mihov and Chip Cox learned their first-round opponents in the NCAA individual men’s tennis championships today. Mihov will open play in the Singles Championship on Wednesday afternoon, then team with Cox in the Doubles Championship beginning Thursday. All matches will be played at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex at the University of Illinois.
Mihov, ranked No. 31 in the country, will face Virginia’s Alex Domijan at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. The second-ranked player in the nation is 36-5 on the season, playing in the No. 2 spot in the Cavaliers’ lineup. The junior has helped UVa to three straight NCAA Championship team finals, including this year’s currently being played against UCLA in which the Cavaliers are looking for their first national championship. Mihov brings a 15-11 record into the match, including a 6-4 ledger playing at the top of the order in SEC matches. The winner of the match advances to second-round action on Thursday, May 23.
In doubles, 17th-ranked Cox and Mihov will face Moritz Buerchner and Norbert Nemcsek of North Florida. The Ospreys’ top doubles tandem is ranked No. 22 in the country behind a 16-6 record that includes a pair of wins over nationally ranked opponents and a trip to the semifinals of the 2012 ITA All-American Championships and the finals of the 2012 Southeast Regional. Cox and Mihov are 12-11 overall this season, playing at the top of the Gamecocks’ doubles lineup. Five the duo’s 12 wins have come against ranked opponents. The winner of the match will advance to the round of 16 on Friday, May 24.
The University of Illinois is providing live stats and video streaming of matches at its NCAA Tournament Central page – fightingillini.com/ncaatennis2013/.
