Gamecocks Sweep Arkansas at Home

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 25 South Carolina men’s tennis team cruised to its third straight SEC victory of the season, swiftly shutting out No. 29 Arkansas 4-0 in under two hours.

Doubles action looked promising for the Gamecocks as the top two positions, Connor Thomson & Lucas da Silva and Jelani Sarr & Atakan Karahan surged to 5-1 leads. Sarr and Karahan struck first officially with a 6-2 win in attempt to grab an early lead for South Carolina.

The Razorback pair battling Thomson and da Silva found their rhythm and began to stage a comeback, winning three consecutive games to close the deficit to 4-5. Things started to look uneasy for the Garnet & Black as Sean Daryabeigi and Casey Hoole were also only leading by 5-4 and down 0-40 in their game from the No. 3 position. Thomson and da Silva were able to ultimately collect the doubles point, pulling ahead to win 6-4 and earn their seventh straight victory this season as a pair.

The Gamecocks dominated singles action from the start, picking up first set wins across all six courts including two shutout 6-0’s from Karahan and Hoole. The bottom half of the lineup led the team to the victory after scoring the remaining points of the match.

Karahan extended the lead to 2-0 for South Carolina after winning his second set in a 6-3 showing. Gabe Avram allowed his opponent to claim no games during his second set, grabbing the Gamecocks’ third point in a 6-2, 6-0 showing. Daryabeigi delivered the clinch with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph.

The Gamecocks continue action at home this week with a noon match against No. 18 Oklahoma on Sat., March 15, featuring a Military Appreciation Day theme, where the first 40 fans in attendance will receive camo hats.

For the latest South Carolina men’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).

(25) South Carolina 4, (29) Arkansas 0

Doubles (order of finish: 2,1)

1. #26 Connor Thomson/Lucas da Silva (SC) def. Connor Smillie/Jakub Vrba (ARK) 6-4
2. Jelani Sarr/Atakan Karahan (SC) def. Bozo Barun/Benni Emesz (ARK) 6-2
3. Casey Hoole/Sean Daryabeigi (SC) vs Brendan Boland/Marino Jakic (ARK) 5-5, unfinished

Singles (order of finish: 5,6,4)

1. Casey Hoole (SC) vs Bozo Barun (ARK) 6-0, 4-6, unfinished
2. Lucas da Silva (SC) led #82 Lukas Palovic (ARK) 6-4, 2-1, unfinished
3. #57 Connor Thomson (SC) led #124 Jakub Vrba (ARK) 7-6 (7-5), 1-0, unfinished
4. #79 Sean Daryabeigi (SC) def. Marino Jakic (ARK) 6-4, 6-2
5. Atakan Karahan (SC) def. Benni Emesz (ARK) 6-0, 6-3
6. Gabe Avram (SC) def. Arthur Bellegy (ARK) 6-2, 6-0