Rodrigues Earns Second SEC Player of the the Week Honor

Columbia, S.C. – The Southeastern Conference has named South Carolina junior Daniel Rodrigues its Men’s Tennis Player of the Week for week nine of the season.  The Funchal, Portugal, native was perfect on the weekend, taking down Nos. 25 and 21 in singles and earning two doubles wins, including an upset of the nation’s No. 2 pair from Ole Miss with partner Connor Thomson.
 
During South Carolina’s match against No. 28 Mississippi State, Rodrigues and Thomson clinched the doubles point for the Gamecocks with a 7-5 win at the top of the lineup. In singles, Rodrigues went on to defeat No. 25 Florian Broska with a comeback win from the No. 1 position. Rodrigues dropped the first set 4-6, but went on to take the next two sets 6-3 and 6-2 to earn the win and clinch the match for South Carolina.
 
Rodrigues went perfect again over No. 31 Ole Miss. He started the day with a dominant 6-1 doubles win over No. 2 Finn Reynolds and Lukas Engelhardt of Ole Miss. In singles, Rodrigues had a quick straight-set win at the top of the lineup, taking down No. 21 Nikola Slavic 6-4, 6-3.
 
This marks Rodrigues’ second SEC Player of the Week honor this season. He previously earned the title during week three of the season following a perfect weekend with wins over Clemson and Georgia Tech.
 
Rodrigues is on a five-match singles win streak with all five of his wins coming over top-35 opponents – Nos. 35, 18, 19, 25, and 21 respectively. He is ranked at No. 3 in the latest ITA singles rankings and No. 13 in doubles.  Rodrigues is 14-2 from the No. 1 singles position on the season and 14-2 in doubles at the top of the lineup.
 
South Carolina men’s tennis is ranked No. 6 in the nation and has spent five consecutive weeks in the top 10. The Gamecocks are 15-4 on the season with four top-10 wins, including an upset of then-No. 1 Tennessee in Knoxville.
 
South Carolina will face No. 34 NC State in a rescheduled non-conference matchup on Wednesday, March 23. First serve will be at 3 p.m. at the J. W. Isenhour Tennis Center in Raleigh, N.C.
 
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