Gamecocks Advance to Quarterfinals at ITA Indoor National Championships
Seattle, Wash. – No. 13 South Carolina upset No. 8 Stanford to advance to the second round of the ITA Indoor National Championships Friday afternoon. This is the first time the Gamecocks have made it to the quarterfinals of the ITA Indoors since 1999. The closely contested match featured a large comeback from the Gamecocks and newcomer James Story showcased his Gamecock GRIT to clinch the match for South Carolina.
“Incredibly proud of the guys today. They really stuck in during the big moments of the match and played aggressive when it mattered,” said head coach Josh Goffi. “We’re excited to advance and get after it again tomorrow.”
In doubles, South Carolina won the first game on all three courts. In the No. 2 position, No. 55 Jake Beasley and Toby Samuelnever fell behind and earned the first win for South Carolina in a 6-2 decision. Shortly thereafter, Raphael Lambling and Story came out on top 6-4 to secure the doubles point for South Carolina.
The match became closely contested in singles play. Stanford went ahead 2-1 with straight-sets wins in the Nos. six and four spots, respectively.
At the top of the lineup, No. 14 Daniel Rodrigues faced No. 1 Arthur Ferry. Ferry took the first set 6-3, but Rodrigues pulled ahead early in the second set to win 6-4. In the third set, Rodrigues won two games but Ferry ultimately prevailed 6-2 and pushed Stanford’s lead to 3-1.
Even though the Cardinal was ahead, the Gamecocks were ready to fight. In the No. 2 spot, Samuel won his first set against No. 38 Alexandre Rotsaert 6-3. Rotsaert, however, pushed back in the second set to go up 3-0. Samuel responded and closed in 4-4, but his Stanford opponent ultimately forced a third set with a 6-4 win. The final set was a battle, but after being down 1-4, Samuel came back to win 6-4 to give South Carolina its second point of the day.
On court three, No. 97 Connor Thomson also faced a ranked opponent in No. 74 Axel Geller. Thomson efficiently won his first set 6-4, but Geller took the second set 6-3. In the third set, Thomson settled in quickly to build a 5-1 lead over his Cardinal opponent. Geller attempted to complete the comeback and closed in 5-5, but Thomson prevailed. He won the next two games to take the 7-5 win and tied things up 3-3 with one match left to play.
In the No. 5 spot, Story played a close match against Sangeet Sridhar. Story went down 7-5 in the first set, but found his groove to take the second 6-4. From there, he fully hit his stride and led the third set 4-0. With some energy left, Sridhar closed in 4-3, but Story would halt his attempt to take the win. Story pulled ahead to notch the 6-4 win and clinched the match for the Gamecocks in a tight 4-3 decision.
South Carolina moves on to the quarterfinals of the ITA Indoor National Championships in which they will face the winner of No. 2 Tennessee and No. 12 Texas A&M. Saturday’s quarterfinal match will take place at 3 p.m. ET.
(13) South Carolina def. (8) Stanford
Doubles (Order of Finish: 2, 3*)
1. (7) Daniel Rodrigues / Connor Thomson (SC) vs. Arthur Ferry / Axel Geller (STAN) 4-5 DNF
2. (55) Jake Beasley / Toby Samuel (SC) def. Alexandre Rotsaert / Sangeet Sridhar (STAN) 6-2
3. Raphael Lambling / James Story (SC) def. Tomas Kopczynski / Timothy Sah (STAN) 6-4
Singles (Order of Finish: 6, 4, 1, 2, 3, 5*)
1. (1) Arthur Ferry (STAN) def. (14) Daniel Rodrigues (SC) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
2. Toby Samuel (SC) def. (38) Alexandre Rotsaert (STAN) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
3. (97) Connor Thomson (SC) def. (74) Axel Geller (STAN) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
4. (49) Max Basing (STAN) def. Raphael Lambling (SC) 6-2, 6-3
5. James Story (SC) def. Sangeet Sridhar (STAN) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
6. Timothy Sah (STAN) def. Jake Beasley (SC) 6-3, 6-4
For all the latest South Carolina men’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
