da Silva, Sarr Fall in Final Qualifying Round
TULSA, OKLA. – South Carolina men’s tennis junior Lucas Andrade da Silva and sophomore Jelani Sarr dropped a tough match in the final round of qualifying at the ITA All-American Championships on Tuesday. Ranked No. 82 in the nation, the Gamecock duo knocked off a top-50 opponent Monday before falling to top-35 foe to come up just short of earning a spot in the main draw.
The Gamecock pair came through prequalifying over the weekend, upsetting the No. 67 team in the nation en route to a spot in the qualifying rounds. In Monday’s first match, da Silva and Sarr handled the No. 43 team in the country, Danil Panarin and Nathan Cox of Vanderbilt 6-3, 6-4. On Tuesday, they squared off against No. 32 Nicholas Godsick and Samir Banerjee of Stanford. The Cardinal pair took the first set, but the Gamecocks rallied to force a tiebreak in the second before falling 6-4, 7-6 (6).
In singles qualifying action, da Silva and sophomore Sean Daryabeigi dropped their opening matches to ranked opponents. Against No. 89 Luis Carlos Alvarez Valdes of Oklahoma, da Silva fought past dropping the first set to force a third where a late service break sealed the Sooner’s 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 victory.
Daryabeigi shook off his opening loss to No. 91 Savrivan Danilov of San Diego to score his first ranked win on the season on Tuesday. Facing No. 74 Nicolas Kotzen of Columbia, the Gamecock sophomore dropped the first set but pushed back to win the second. That momentum carried him through to the 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
South Carolina senior Casey Hoole is set to open his season in the singles main draw on Wednesday. Ranked No. 45 in the nation, he will take on the tournament’s eighth-seed Jack Anthrop of Ohio State Wednesday afternoon.
Complete draws, schedules and results for the ITA All-American Championships will be posted on the ITA Tournament Page. Cracked Racquets will stream Main Draw matches on the ITA YouTube channel, and matches will also stream on TrackTennis.
Under the new format for NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, players and doubles teams in the ITA All-American Championships can qualify right into the NCAA Championships bracket. From singles, eight main draw quarterfinalists and two feed-in consolation finalists will punch their ticket directly into the NCAA Singles Championships. The four main draw doubles semifinalists will join them in the NCAA Doubles Championships.
Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockMTennis) for the most up-to-date information on the men’s tennis season.
South Carolina Results – Qualifying Rounds
Singles Round of 64 (Sept. 23)
(89) Luis Carlos Alvarez Valdes (OK) def. Lucas Andrade da Silva (SC) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
(91) Savriyan Danilov (USD) def. Sean Daryabeigi (SC) 6-1, 6-1
Singles Consolation (Sept. 24)
Sean Daryabeigi (SC) def. (74) Nicolas Kotzen (COL) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
Doubles Round of 32 (Sept. 23)
(82) Lucas Andrade da Silva/Jelani Sarr (SC) def. (43) Danil Panarin/Nathan Cox (VU) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles Round of 16 (Sept. 24)
(32) Nicholas Godsick/Samir Banerjee (STAN) def. (82) Lucas Andrade da Silva/Jelani Sarr (SC) 6-4, 7-6 (6)
