Sunday, 01/29/2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina men's tennis (4-0) defeated No. 69 Georgia St. (3-1) by a score of 6-1 on Sunday afternoon at the USC Indoor Facility in the first match of a Sunday doubleheader. Sophomores Nick Jones and Chip Cox paced the Gamecocks to their fourth win of the season and kept the Gamecocks undefeated in their 2012 campaign.

The match started with a lot of energy as the Gamecocks faced their first ranked opponent of the season. In doubles play, the Brazilian tandem of senior Ivan Machado and freshman Thiago Pinheiro gave the Gamecocks the early advantage by defeating Matias Hatem and Victor Valente 8-2 in the No. 2 spot. The duo took an early 5-0 lead and never looked back, remaining perfect in service for the match. The Panthers struck back at the No. 3 spot as Juan Pablo Gutierrez and Lucas Santana defeated Cox and Andrew Adams by a score of 8-2 to pull even and leave the doubles point up to the No. 1 match. With the doubles point in the balance, freshman Kyle Koch and Jones took on Georgia St.'s top pairing of Matias Hatem and Victor Valente. The match was on serve at 4-4 when Jones and Koch came up with a crucial break to put them in the lead. The tandem would take that momentum to close out the opposition 8-4 and clinch the doubles point for Carolina.

As the match moved to singles play, the Gamecocks looked to veteran players to lead the Garnet and Black to their fourth win. Myrtle Beach, S.C. native Cox took care of business in the No. 4 spot by defeating Georgia St.'s Ismael Lahlou, 6-3, 6-1. Machado followed Cox's performance with his fourth singles win of the year, thanks to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Thomas Cook that gave the Gamecocks a 3-0 lead in the match. Shortly after Machado's win, Adams gave Carolina the victory by taking out Hatem 6-2, 6-3. With the match in hand, Jones forced a third set in the No. 1 spot after dropping the first set 2-6. The Sophomore from Cardiff, Wales used his powerful serve to grind out the deciding set, and Jones took the match 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Koch kept the heat on the Panthers by sending in his fourth win of the year with a dominating 6-0, 6-1 victory in the No. 6 spot.
 
South Carolina takes on Davidson this afternoon at 4 p.m. at the USC Indoor Facility in the second match of today's doubleheader. Be sure to check Gamecocks Online for full recaps of today's matches.

South Carolina 6, No. 69 Georgia State 1
Doubles
Nick Jones / Kyle Koch (SC) def. Matias Hatem/Victor Valente (GSU) 8-4
Ivan Machado / Thiago Pinheiro (SC) def. Thomas Cook/Jose Ortiz (GSU) 8-2
Juan Pablo Gutierrez/Lucas Santana (GSU) def. Chip Cox / Andrew Adams (SC) 8-2

Singles
Nick Jones (SC) def. Victor Valente (GSU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
Ivan Machado (SC) def. Thomas Cook (GSU) 6-4, 6-4
Andrew Adams (SC) def. Matias Hatem (GSU) 6-2, 6-3
Chip Cox (SC) def. Ismael Lahlou (GSU) 6-3, 6-1
Juan Pablo Gutierrez (GSU) def. Carl Eguez (SC) 7-6(12-10), 1-6, 1-0(15-13)
Kyle Koch (SC) def. Lucas Santana (GSU) 6-0, 6-1