Thomson Advances to Qualifying Draw at ITA All-Americans
TULSA, Okla.— Behind four wins in two days, South Carolina men’s tennis freshman Connor Thomson advanced to the Singles Qualifying Draw of the ITA All-American Championships. Freshman Phillip Jordan came within one win of also advancing as four Gamecocks in the pre-qualifying rounds amassed 10 victories over the last two days.
Thomson dropped just a single set all weekend, including a pair of dominant performances on Saturday. The Gamecock freshman defeated Jordan Sauer of UNLV 6-4, 6-1 in the first round and then SEC foe Panu Virtanen of Vanderbilt 6-4, 6-2.
Sunday’s matches saw the Scotland native go the distance against Duke’s Andrew Zhang. Thomson claimed the opening set by a single service break before Zhang rallied to claim a second-set tiebreak. Showing the Gamecock grit head coach Josh Goffi had hoped to see from his team, Thomson overpowered Zhang in the final set for the 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 victory. In his final match of the prequalifying round, Thomson returned to efficiency with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Baylor redshirt senior Ryan Dickerson.
Pre-Qualifying Round 1
Thomas Brown (SC) def. Frank Wesley Barnett (Rice) 6-1, 1-6, 6-3
Phillip Jordan (SC) def. Hunter Harrison. (Ark.) 6-3, 6-1
Beau Pelletier (SC) def. Scott Hjelm (Oral Rob) 6-4, 6-2
Connor Thomson (SC) def. Jordan Sauer (UNLV) 6-4, 6-1
Pre-Qualifying Round 2
Thomas Brown (SC) def. Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU) 6-4, 6-1
Phillip Jordan (SC) def. Mark Mandlik (Okla.) 6-4, 6-1
Jan Pallares (Memphis) def. Beau Pelletier (SC) 6-3, 7-6 (5)
Connor Thomson (SC) def. Panu Virtanen (Vand) 6-4, 6-2
Pre-Qualifying Round 3
Martim Prata (Tenn.) def. Thomas Brown (SC) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
Phillip Jordan (SC) def. Ivan Thamma (UCD) 6-3, 6-4
Connor Thomson (SC) def. Andrew Zhang (Duke) 6-4, 6-7, 6-2
Pre-Qualifying Round 4
Connor Thomson (SC) def. Ryan Dickerson (Baylor) 6-4, 6-2
Chase Wood (FSU) def. Phillip Jordan (SC) 7-6 (6), 6-3
UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
Thomson joins fellow Gamecock Raphael Lambling in the qualifying draw, which begins Monday. The draw will be announced later tonight.
For men’s tennis updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
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