No. 36 South Carolina Powers Past No. 67 Arkansas, 4-0
March 30, 2014
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 36 South Carolina defeated No. 67 Arkansas 4-0 as the Gamecocks responded to Friday’s tough loss at LSU with a dominant performance Sunday to close out the weekend road trip. After winning the doubles point, South Carolina (11-10, 3-5 SEC) won four of the six first sets in singles and never took its foot off the gas in a match that took just over three hours to finish.
The Gamecocks jumped out to early leads at the top and bottom of the doubles lineup, but the Razorbacks’ top duo of No. 37 Mike Nott and Manfred Jeske battled back to get on serve with Chip Cox and Tsvetan Mihov. The No. 3 match saw Thiago Pinheiro and Sam Swank hold onto their advantage in an 8-5 win, while the Gamecocks’ most consistent tandem of Andrew Adams and Kyle Koch pushed ahead of No. 71 Hall Fess and Pete Thomason at 5-3 and held the Razorbacks off late in an 8-6 win that delivered the early 1-0 lead in the match.
Singles was evenly matched early on all six courts, but the Gamecocks took the early advantage with late service breaks in the Nos. 3-6 matches to win all four first sets. Freshman Andrew Schafer was the first to close out his first set as he rallied from 1-3 down to top Thomason 6-4 in the first in the No. 6 contest. Koch took a 4-2 lead midway through his set with Johan den Toom and carried that to a 6-4 decision, and Cox won two of the last three games to post a 6-4 first set over Fess in the No. 3 match. As No. 88 Mihov dropped his first set with Jeske in a tiebreak, Pinheiro battled for a 6-4 win in his first set over Parlic to establish the Gamecocks’ presence.
Schafer would not let Thomason back in the match at No. 6, turning an early 2-0 lead into a 6-3 victory that made it 2-0 South Carolina. Adams was rallying back against Nott at the top of the lineup, using an early break to win his second set 6-4, but the two would not get to their third set as Cox again won two of the last three games to wrap up his win over Fess and Koch quickly followed with his 6-4 victory over den Toom to clinch the team victory for the Gamecocks, who have won three of their last four SEC outings.
South Carolina returns to Carolina Tennis Center for its final home weekend. The Gamecocks will face No. 48 Ole Miss on Fri., April 4, at 5 p.m., and No. 17 Mississippi State on Sun, April 6, at noon. South Carolina will honors its two seniors – Cox and Mihov – prior to Sunday’s match.
#36 South Carolina 4, #67 Arkansas 0
Doubles (Order of Finish: 3, 2)
1. Chip Cox/Tsvetan Mihov (SC) vs. (37) Mike Nott/Manfred Jeske (ARK) 7-7 suspended
2. Andrew Adams/Kyle Koch (SC) def. (71) Hall Fess/Pete Thomason (ARK) 8-6
3. Thiago Pinheiro/Sam Swank (SC) def. Jacob Herndon/Jovan Parlic (ARK) 8-5
Singles (Order of Finish: 6, 3, 5*)
1. Andrew Adams (SC) tied Mike Nott (ARK) 3-6, 6-4 suspended
2. Manfred Jeske (ARK) led (88) Tsvetan Mihov (SC) 7-6, 4-1 suspended
3. Chip Cox (SC) def. Hall Fess (ARK) 6-4, 6-4
4. Thiago Pinheiro (SC) led Jovan Parlic (ARK) 6-4, 3-3 suspended
5. Kyle Koch (SC) def. Johan den Toom (ARK) 6-4, 6-4
6. Andrew Schafer (SC) def. Pete Thomason (ARK) 6-4, 6-3
