March 14, 2000

COLUMBIA, S.C. - North Carolina's 51st-ranked men's tennis won its fourth match in a row Tuesday afternoon, upsetting 25th-ranked South Carolina 4-3. UNC junior David Cheatwood clinched the victory for the Tar Heels by defeating USC's Olof Akesson, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 at #3 singles.

"This was a great road win for us and obviously a real close match," said UNC head coach Sam Paul, in his seventh year as the Tar Heels' head mentor. "Our team is not 100 percent healthy and the guys did a great job of digging down and overcoming adversity to get the win.

"David Cheatwood at #3 singles clinched the win so we are especially proud of him."

After losing the doubles point to the Gamecocks (4-3), the Tar Heels had to win four singles matches to claim the victory. Fifty-sixth ranked Tripp Phillips of UNC won at #1 singles with a decisive, 6-4, 6-0 win over #55 Robert Steckley of USC. Junior Chad Riley won at #5 singles for UNC in straight sets and freshman Greg Archer scored a come-from-behind win over the Gamecocks' Jeff Bergman at the #6 spot.

The Tar Heels (7-2) will return to action when they play at Florida State Saturday at 1 p.m.

MEN'S TENNIS SUMMARY
#51 North Carolina 4, #25 South Carolina 3
Singles (Best 2 of 3 sets)
#1 #56 Tripp Phillips (UNC) d. #55 Robert Steckley (USC), 6-4, 6-0
#2 #40 Guillaume Legat (USC) d. Assaf Drori (UNC), 6-0, Retired
#3 David Cheatwood (UNC) d. Olof Akesson (USC), 5-7, 7-5, 6-3
#4 Seth Rose (USC) d. Trystan Meniane (UNC), 6-1, 6-2
#5 Chad Riley (UNC) d. David Nelson (USC), 6-2, 6-3
#6 Greg Archer (UNC) d. Jeff Bergman (USC), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
Doubles (1 Pro Set, Team Which Wins at least 2 doubles matches earns 1 team point)
#1 Legat-Steckley (USC) d. Phillips-Tyne Brownlow (UNC), 8-6
#2 Akesson-Nelson (USC) d. Cheatwood-Meniane (UNC), 9-7
#3 Ben Elix-Archer (UNC) d. Berhman-Rose (USC), 8-4
Records: UNC 7-2, South Carolina 4-3