ANDERSON, S.C. – Anderson men's tennis is set to travel to USC Sumter for its season opener on Wednesday. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Coker Tennis Courts.
MATCH SETUP
Who – Anderson (3-0) vs USC Sumter (0-0)
When – Wednesday (3 p.m.)
Where – Sumter, S.C. (Palmetto Tennis Center)
ANDERSON OVERVIEW
* The Trojans finished the fall season with a 3-0 record.
* Anderson is led by 9th year head coach Joey Eskridge with an overall men's record of 102-60.
* The Black and Gold return three players and boast a total of seven newcomers.
* Freshman Ignacio Bidegain and Jeffrey Dayton were named to the All-SAC Doubles Preseason Team.
HISTORY OF USC SUMTER (exert taken from USC Sumter website)
Athletics has a long and unique history at the University of South Carolina Sumter.
USC Sumter is the only regional campus in the University of South Carolina system that actually began as Clemson University. Clemson University was established in Sumter in 1966 by active friends and alumni of Clemson University.
In the early days of Clemson University (1967-68), an Economics Professor by the name of Porter Adams decided to put together a tennis team. Adams had a long standing love of tennis and many years of experience to back it up. The team competed for the next five years with outstanding winning seasons and regional championships each year.
The next organized sport to appear at Clemson University was basketball, then baseball entered the picture in the spring of 1972. Both sports were successful and had strong leaders with a passion for the sport to guide the program.
During this time, the mascot for Clemson University at Sumter was the "Partisan," a revolutionary war type character. The colors for the school were purple and white.
By 1973, Clemson University decided it did not want to be in the regional campus business and the University was taken over by the University of South Carolina. Athletics continued to be a strong influence on campus until 1979, when interest, participation and quick turnover of students diminished the programs.
It wasn't until 2006 that athletics were re-born at USC Sumter. The mascot was updated to the current "Fire Ant" and the colors were changed to garnet and white to reflect the association with the University.
Baseball and softball were introduced as the initial sports of the new Fire Ant program. Both have maintained strong, successful seasons both on and off the field. Along the way soccer and basketball were introduced as sports but were not maintained by the University.
In 2015, school officials announced Fire Ant men's and women's tennis as two new sports.
