Feb. 2, 2014
COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 17 South Carolina capped off its Sunday doubleheader with a 4-1 win over Wofford. The Gamecocks (5-2) dropped the doubles point, but got key wins from the Nos. 5 and 6 singles spots to turn the tide in the match. Senior Tsvetan Mihov clinched the victory for South Carolina, gutting out a third-set tiebreak.
“These were tricky matches today,” South Carolina head coach Josh Goffi said. “There are a lot of upsets going on around the country with the new scoring format, which puts every team in the mix. We’re still adapting to that. So, we’re not necessarily playing poorly. We’re just not constructing points as well as we should in this format. We’re not firing on all cylinders, but hopefully these wins today will provide us a platform to jump off for our tough matches coming up this weekend.”
The Gamecocks came out explosively in doubles against the Terriers, but could not lock down the point even with an impressive showing by Mihov and Thiago Pinheiro at the No. 2 spot in the order. The duo came out on fire and kept its foot on the gas, winning 6-0. The Terriers scored a 6-3 win in the No. 3 match to put the point in the hands of the top of the lineup. No. 24 Chip Cox and Kyle Koch fell behind 5-3 but won the next two games against Rob Galloway and Haris Poric to force a tiebreak. Wofford’s tandem jumped out early in the tiebreak and delivered the 6-5 (3) victory.
In singles, No. 91 Andrew Schafer dominated in the No. 6 spot, dropping just one game in his 6-1, 6-0 win over Parks Thompson to even the match at 1-1. Cox handled Trevro Gotkowski in the first set 6-1, but the Terriers’ freshman managed his service games better in the second and took it to a tiebreak. South Carolina’s senior got on top early and fought off a late charge to make it a 2-1 Gamecock lead with his 6-5 (4) victory.
Pinheiro stretched the Gamecocks’ advantage to 3-1 with his workman-like effort in a 6-2, 6-2 win over Keith in the No. 3 spot. The match would come down to the top two spots in the order, both of which were in their third sets. In the No. 1 spot, Mihov fell behind Galloway early in the first set and had to battle back to force a tiebreak, which the Terriers’ junior won 6-5 (5). South Carolina’s All-American took the second set 6-2 after an early service break. The third set again saw Mihov score an early service break, but Galloway fought back to send it to a tiebreak. The Gamecocks’ veteran powered through the tiebreak, punctuating his 6-5 (3) win with an ace on match point.
The Gamecocks resume play this Fri., Feb., 7, at 5 p.m. at No. 20 Wake Forest then head to No. 35 NC State for Sunday match.
#17 South Carolina 4, Wofford 1
Doubles (Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1*)
1. Rob Galloway/Haris Poric (WOF) def. (24) Kyle Koch/Chip Cox 6-5 (3)
2. Thiago Pinheiro/Tsvetan Mihov (SC) def. Walker Heffron/Jackson Keith (WOF) 6-0
3. Trevor Gotkowski/David Sklar (WOF) def. Andrew Adams/Andrew Schafer (SC) 6-3
Singles (Order of Finish: 6, 5, 3, 1*)
1. (41) Tsvetan Mihov (SC) def. Rob Galloway (WOF) 5-6 (5), 6-2, 6-5 (3)
2. Haris Poric (WOF) led (103) Kyle Koch (SC) 6-5 (1), 3-6, 4-3 suspended
3. Thiago Pinheiro (SC) def. Jackson Keith (WOF) 6-2, 6-2
4. Andrew Adams (SC) led Walker Heffron (WOF) 5-4 suspended
5. Chip Cox (SC) def. Trevor Gotkowski (WOF) 6-1, 6-5 (4)
6. (91) Andrew Schafer (SC) def. Parks Thompson (WOF) 6-1, 6-0
