Tennessee Rolls Into SEC Semifinals With 4-1 Win Over the Gamecocks

Lexington, Ky.-- The Tennessee tennis team defeated No. 30 South Carolina 4-1in Friday?s quarterfinal round of the SEC tournament in Lexington, Ky. The win was Tennessee?s second over the 10th-seeded Gamecocks in a week. The No. 7 Vols (17-4, 10-2 SEC) will face Alabama in Saturday?s semifinal round.

"At the end of the regular season we felt we were playing sharp and today we continued that form," said Tennessee head coach Michael Fancutt. "We were very solid today. Several of our players are playing as well as I have seen them play and that is really encouraging."

The Vols started well, winning their fifth straight doubles point and running their season record to 11-0 when winning the doubles point. Tennessee?s Mario Toledo and Simon Rea started things off with an 8-2 victory over Carl Wermee and Rodrigo Pacheco in the No. 3 match. The Vols? No. 45 pair of Peter Handoyo and Andy Crews then captured their fifth straight doubles win and first clinching point of the season with an 8-3 victory over Seth Rose and David Nelson in the No. 1 match.

The Vols ended the match quickly by taking three of the four completed singles matches to finish off the Gamecocks. Tennessee?s Adam Carey, ranked No. 60 nationally, struck first with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Marcus Westman in the No. 3 match.

"Adam (Carey) is playing the best I have seen him play in his UT career," Fancutt said. "He beat this guy (Westman) in three sets a week ago, but today he was just all over the guy. He was fanastic."

Junior Peter Handoyo, ranked No. 26, then registered his fifth staight win on the season 6-1, 6-2 over No. 98 Seth Rose in the No. 2 match. No. 94 Paul Podbury then clinched the match for the Vols with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over David Nelson in the No.4 match. No. 5 Guillaume Legat was the lone winner for the Gamecocks. Legat defeated No. 30 Mark Parsons 6-2, 6-0 in the No. 1 match.

Up next for the Vols is a semifinal matchup with Alabama Saturday beginning at noon. Tennessee defeated the Tide 4-3 on March 4, in Tuscaloosa. Alabama is the tournament?s sixth seed and advanced to the semifinal round with a 4-3 upset over LSU in Friday?s quarterfinal round. Alabama is currently ranked No. 17 nationally and has an 18-8 overall record on the season.

"Alabama is a very tough team," Fancutt said. "It seams like they always play us 4-3, when we play them we just always expect to be pushed. We will expect the same tomorrow."

SEC QUARTERFINALS:

#7 Tennessee 4, #30 South Carolina 1

SINGLES:

1. (5) Guillaume Legat (USC) def. (30) Mark Parsons (UT) 6-2, 6-0

2. (26) Peter Handoyo (UT) def. (98) Seth Rose (USC) 6-1, 6-2

3. (60)Adam Carey (UT) def. Marcus Westman (USC) 6-0, 6-1

4. (94) Paul Podbury (UT) def. David Nelson (USC) 6-3, 6-2

5. (70) Mario Toledo (UT) vs. Carl Wermee (USC) DNP

6. Simon Rea (UT) vs. Rodrigo Pacheco (USC) DNP

DOUBLES:

1. (45) Handoyo/ Crews (UT) def. Rose/ Nelson (USC) 8-3

2. (18) Parsons/ Carey (UT) vs. Legat/ Westman (USC) DNF