South Carolina To Host NCAA Championships This Weekend

Columbia, S.C. – Hosting NCAA Championship matches for the second consecutive year, No. 10 South Carolina will face South Carolina State in the first round of the event on Fri., May 6, at 1 p.m. The day’s matches at the Carolina Tennis Center will open at 10 a.m. with No. 26 Pepperdine taking on No. 40 Washington. The winners of Friday’s matches will play on Sat., May 7, at 1 p.m.
 
Tickets to each match will be sold at the door at the Carolina Tennis Center main entrance for $5. Students, faculty, and staff can purchase tickets for $3 with a valid University ID. A clear bag policy will be in effect.
 
Live streaming for all matches will be provided on the TennisONE app. Live stat links and more information can be found on the Tournament Central webpage.
 
Gamecock Notables

• South Carolina is 21-6 on the season with a perfect 15-0 record at home. The Gamecocks ended the regular season with a program best 10-2 record in SEC play.
• Two Gamecocks are ranked in singles – No. 1 Daniel Rodrigues and No. 82 Toby Samuel. South Carolina also has two ranked doubles pairs – No. 18 Rodrigues/Connor Thomson and No. 57 Rodrigues/Beau Pelletier.
• Rodrigues and Samuel both recently were named to the All-SEC First Team while Thomson was named to the All-SEC Second Team.

 
South Carolina NCAA Tournament Notables

• This is the eighth time the Gamecocks were selected to the NCAA Championships under head coach Josh Goffi, including each of the last five tournaments that have been held.
• The Gamecocks are 5-2 in NCAA Championship first-round matches under Goffi.
• South Carolina is 18-25 all-time in the NCAA Championships with its best team finish coming in 1989 in the semifinals.

 
About South Carolina State

• South Carolina State is 12-9 on the season and are coming off of a title clinching win in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championships. This was the programs 17th MEAC title and 14th in the last 18 seasons.
• The Bulldogs went a perfect 4-0 in conference play during the regular season and swept both of their opponents en route to the conference title.
• South Carolina is 9-0 all time against South Carolina State. The two teams most recent matchup was a close one with the Gamecocks escaping with a narrow 4-3 win on April 15, 2021.

 
About Pepperdine

• No. 26 Pepperdine went 17-7 on the season with a 7-5 mark over ranked opponents, including a pair of top-10 wins over No. 5 Southern California and No. 10 Harvard.
• The Waves posted an 8-1 record in conference play with their only loss to No. 22 San Diego. They advanced to the title match of the West Coast Conference Championships before falling again to a 19th ranked San Diego.
• Pepperdine is home to four ranked singles players – No. 24 Daniel De Jonge, No. 67 Tim Zietvogel, No. 84 Pietro Fellin, and No. 93 Andrew Rogers. They also have one ranked doubles pair in No. 72 De Jonge and Eero Vasa.
• The Waves are led by De Jonge, a senior from Vlissingen, Netherlands, who is 25-9 overall and 13-6 from the No. 1 position. De Jonge also primarily plays in the No. 1 doubles position where he is 6-6 with his partner Vasa.

 
About Washington

• No. 40 Washington went 18-11 on the season with a 2-6 record in Pac-12 play. Despite their regular-season conference record, the Huskies made a deep run in the Pac-12 Championships, taking down No. 53 Oregon, No. 17 Arizona, and No. 49 UCLA to advance to the title match where they fell to No. 13 Southern California.
• Washington is led by junior Clement Chidekh who is ranked eighth in the nation. Chidekh has a 28-4 overall record and a 17-1 mark at the No. 1 position.
• Washington and South Carolina have never competed against each other in the regular season or post season.

 
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