Rodrigues, Thomson Set for NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships

ORLANDO, FLA. – South Carolina men’s tennis sophomore Daniel Rodrigues and freshman Connor Thomson learned their opponents in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships with the release of both brackets today. The events at the USTA National Campus begin on Sun., May 23, with matches streaming on the TennisONE app.
 
In the 64-player singles event, second-seeded Rodrigues with open with No. 69 Dimitri Badra of East Tennessee State at 10 a.m. on Sunday. No. 22 Thomson opens his tournament at 3:30 p.m. that day against No. 101 Zeke Clark of Illinois.
 
The 32-team doubles event will start on Mon., May 24, with No. 13 Rodrigues/Thomson facing No. 19 Marcus McDaniel and Andres Martin of Georgia Tech. Times for doubles matches will be announced at a later date.
 
Both Gamecocks are making their individual championship debuts following First-Team All-SEC seasons. Rodrigues became the second Gamecock in as many NCAA Singles Championships to enter the event seeded, following the 2019 event that saw fifth-seeded Paul Jubb go on to win the title.
 
The first Gamecock to earn multiple First-Team All-SEC honors since 1999, Rodrigues brings a 26-7 singles record into the event with his season already ranking among the best in program history. He became the first Gamecock to earn a No. 1 ranking and his ranked wins (11), SEC wins (9) and wins from the No. 1 singles position (18) are all among the top four in program history.
 
Thomson is 18-13 on the season in singles, including five ranked wins with two of those against top-20 foes. He clinched the team victory a team-high five times this season. He was 7-4 in three-set matches and won 12 of the 13 tiebreaks he played this season.
 
In doubles, the duo is 22-12 on the season and rose as high as No. 11 in the rankings, the highest mark for a Gamecock doubles team since Fall 2009. Of their 11 ranked wins, five were against top-20 opponents with a season-best win over then-No. 6 Blumberg/Cernoch of North Carolina.
 
For men’s tennis updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).