COLUMBIA, S.C. – Wofford’s three senior captains Alan Donald, Paul Bartholomy and Michael Schecter were able to capture their first match wins of the season today, but the nationally ranked South Carolina Gamecocks proved too much for the Terrier men’ tennis team, defeating Wofford 6-1. The Terriers drop to 0-2 on the season.

Coach Rod Ray’s team traveled to Columbia, S.C. Sunday morning and challenged the No. 56 ranked South Carolina in USC’s Indoor Fieldhouse. Paul Bartholomy and Michael Schecter opened up the day with a tight win in doubles play against USC’s Chris Sheehan and Alexander Kostanov. The doubles match was taken to the wire, but the Terrier duo was able to pull out a 9-8 win. The Gamecocks went on to win the next two doubles matches, giving them the first points of the match.

The Gamecocks were able to take advantage in a majority of the singles matches, but their success was eclipsed with a strong win by senior Alan Donald. Donald was able to sweep past USC’s Johannes Pulsfort in straight sets at the No. 3 spot. Donald gave the Terriers their only point of the day with a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

Stuart Robertson nearly gave the Terriers another point after facing Kostanov at the No. 2 position. The two players traded the first two sets each at 6-4 and took the third set to a twelve point tie-breaker. Kostanov was able to grab a 7-1 win in the tie-breaker to win the third set.

The Terriers next match will be the home-opener in two weeks against the Winthrop Eagles. The match is set to start at 1:30 pm, January 29th at the Reeves Tennis Center. Be sure to check out the 2011 men’s tennis media guide, available HERE.

Doubles (Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1)
1. Nick Jones/Ivan Machado (SC) def. Alan Donald/Stuart Robertson (WC) 8-4
2. Paul Bartholomy/Michael Schecter (WC) def. Chris Sheehan/Alexander Kostanov(SC) 9-8
3. Johannes Pulsfort/Chip Cox (SC) def. Drew Superstein/Randall Heffron (WC) 8-1

Singles (Order of Finish: 2, 5, 3, 1, 6, 4)
1. Nick Jones (SC) def. Michael Schecter (WC) 7-5, 6-4
2. Alexander Kostanov (SC) def. Stuart Robertson (WC) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1)
3. Alan Donald (WC) def. Johannes Pulsfort (SC) 6-4, 6-2
4. Chip Cox (SC) def. Paul Bartholomy (WC) 6-1, 6-2
5. Chris Sheehan (SC) def. Drew Superstein (WC) 7-5, 7-5
6. Jake Bowling (SC) def. Tom Wood (WC) 6-2, 6-1