The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 12, 2006, Page 19, Image 19
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
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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—