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Juan Bias / THE GAMECOCK Yevgeny Supeko, above, and Geraldo Knorr are the No. 35 doubles team in the nation. Tennis to take court against Clemson fllyssa fiber THE GAMECOCK The USC men’s tennis team will play its next-to last match of the season Wednesday against upstate rival Clemson. The Gamecocks have ^^been on a roll lately, winning ^^their last four matches, all against Southeastern Conference teams. The Gamecocks have a 13 11 record and are 5-5 in conference play. USC’s 5 2 victory against Vanderbilt on Sunday was the school’s fourth consecutive regular season SEC victory, which set a school record. The victory propelled the Gamecocks from 46th in the Fila collegiate tennis rankings to 35 th. The Tigers began their •season strongly. Clemson won 17 of its first 19 matches and recorded a 13 match winning streak, in which it beat ranked teams LSU, Georgia Tech and Miami. In March, Clemson made its way into the top 5. Clemson has struggled in the latter part of March and early April, winning only one of its last seven matches and falling to No. 21 in the Fila rankings. Three of Clemson’s recent losses were decided by one point and five of the losses were in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Clemson is currently 19-8 overall and 3-6 in the ACC. If history is any indication, USC won’t be an easy foe for Clemson to end its three match losing streak. USC leads the all-time series 22 13 against the Tigers and has won 10 of the last 11 matches against Clemson. Home-court advantage has also had little significance in recent years, with Carolina winning four of the last five matches at Clemson. The Gamecocks also bested the Tigers last year with a 6-1 victory. Nine of USC’s last 12 victories have been by at least a three-point margin. w m The archrivals will face each other at 2 p.m. at the Hoke A. Sloan Tennis Center. USC will be looking for a strong push from seniors Geraldo Knorr, Adam Adler and team captain Tom Eklund. The Gamecocks will also look to younger players such as sophomores Jaime Cuellar and Yevgeny Supeko. The doubles team of Knorr and Supeko is ranked No. 35. The Gamecocks will have only one regular-season match after the match with Clemson. They will meet No. 14 Florida in Gainesville on Saturday, April 15. Following their trip to the Sunshine State, the Gamecocks will begin their postseason play by traveling to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the SEC tournament. The tournament will be held April 20-23 and be preceded by the SEC awards banquet April 19. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@giam.sc. edu I 4 I DEVELOPMENT ANN I KUAN LIQUID * MILLY LAFAYETTE 148 PETIT BATEAU MAGASCHONI LEVI'S CAPITAL E TIBI * VINCE FARINAZ ORLA KIELY CRAIG TAYLOR WHITE-WARREN YANUK mjj A KT I l * /\ 1 N) VAJN | WOMENSWEAR - W 2734 Devine Street J 803.252.4339 Vanjean proudly ****** TinSLEV • COnTinUEDEROm 18 Glavine remain healthy. The season’s biggest surprise is actually in the National League, however. It’s the saga that is Barry Bonds. He is batting .167 without a home run or an RBI — and San Francisco is still in first place in the N.L. West. Something tells me when the weather heats up so will Barry’s bat. If it does, then the rest of the division is in trouble, but if not then the Giants won’t be a factor. All of these surprises really don’t mean much since it’s just the beginning of a long season. But it’s exciting to see teams like the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies starting off well after years of mediocrity. Chances are these teams will fizzle before the end of the season, but it would be fun to see some surprise teams make it to the playoffs. As the White Sox proved last year, anything is possible once the playoffs start. This weekend’s most exciting matchup will be the Giants at their bitter rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers. This three-game series doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it will be important psychologically to win, because these teams will prohably battle each other all year for the division crown. By the end of the month the standings will look totally different than now^ but it will be fun to watch the season unfold during the summer months. And hopefully, the playoffs will have some longshot teams. CLcmson • conTinucofRomi8 Greer, has been hitting a squad-best .421 with six RBI in the past five games. D’Alessio hit a grand slam in the Maryland series, giving the first baseman from Naples, Fla., 9 RBI in those five games. The whole team is hitting .308 with 12 extra base hits and three home runs in that stretch. The Gamecocks, despite losing the Alabama series, did hit well last weekend. Utility infielder Reese Havens, a freshman from Sullivan’s Island, went 5-of 9 in the series, knocking in 5 RBI and a pair of doubles, including one that drove home the game-winning run Friday, April 5. During the doubleheader Sunday, the Gamecocks sent four home runs over the Sarge’s wall, including shots from freshman first baseman Justin Smoak, junior outfielder Cheyne Hurst and junior first baseman Drew Martin. Robbie Grinestaff also went yard in the series, belting his team-leading 11th homer and improving his average to .316. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm. sc. edu The new‘idiots’ HByiimmrt _mu i i i m Kathy Willens / The Associated Press Johnny Damon and new teammate Jason Giambi watch as F-14 Tomcats fly over Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. Damon and the Yankees are off to a 3-4 start in 2006. (TTOUK] nrnrrwvrrsl Justin Runager and Laurie Miller for Obtaining the Hall of Leaders Recognition Order of Omega Awards Wednesday Capstone Conference Room i. /-'.ate.' H ____—_—_i_ 1—