Gamecocks Fall to Fifth-Ranked Texas A&M
April 8, 2018
COLLEGE STATION, Texas –
No. 5 Texas A&M 6, No. 27 South Carolina 1
College Station, Texas — No. 27 South Carolina men’s tennis (16-7, 6-5 SEC) saw its four-match SEC winning streak come to an end in a 6-1 loss to fifth-ranked Texas A&M (18-4, 10-0 SEC) on Sunday afternoon at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
The Gamecocks took the doubles point with wins from the Nos. 2 and 3 pairings before dropping all six singles matches, snapping their conference win streak.
DOUBLES
South Carolina earned a third-straight doubles point with wins out of the Nos. 2 and 3 pairs.
After the No. 1 match when to the Aggies, Gabriel Friedrich and Thomas Mayronne (5-2) put away a 6-3 win over No. 58 Arthur Rinderknech and Patrick Kypson. Wood Benton and Paul Jubb (2-1) clinched the point for the Gamecocks, closing out a 6-2 win in the No. 3 spot.
DOUBLES (1, 2, 3*)
1. (13) Jordi Arconada/ Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAM) def. (57) Yancy Dennis/Harrison O’Keefe (SC), 6-3
2. Gabriel Friedrich/Thomas Mayronne (SC) def. (58) Arthur Rinderknech/ Patrick Kypson (TAM), 6-3
3. Paul Jubb/Wood Benton (SC) def. AJ Catanzariti/ Valentin Vacherot (TAM), 6-2
SINGLES
Texas A&M took all six singles matches winning five of six opening sets after dropping the doubles point. “Going out in singles, the way we took it to them (in doubles) had sparked a little bit of a fire in them, and they started dealing on us pretty early,” said head coach Josh Goffi post-match.
Paul Jubb took his opening set 7-6 (5) win, looking to extend his singles win streak to five, but fell 6-4 in the second set and 10-8 in the third-set tiebreak.
SINGLES (5, 1, 4, 3*, 6, 2)
1. (12) Patrick Kypson (TAM) def. (24) Gabriel Friedrich (SC) 6-3, 6-2
2. (10) Arthur Rinderknech (TAM) def. (70) Paul Jubb (SC) 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 1-0 (10-8)
3. (73) Jordi Arconada (TAM) def. Yancy Dennis (SC) 6-3, 7-5*
4. (52) Valentin Vacherot (TAM) def. Thomas Mayronne (SC) 6-2, 6-3
5. (109) Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAM) def. Harrison O’Keefe (SC) 6-4, 6-0
6. Barnaby Smith (TAM) def. Wood Benton (SC) 6-3, 6-4
QUOTABLE
On how the team picked up Sunday’s doubles point
“We started out great in [doubles]. We figured [Texas A&M] might have a slow start after a big, convincing win on Friday night (vs No. 9 Florida), and we jumped on them. It’s exactly what we thought- they weren’t ready to play ââ’¬” and we just took care of business there.”
On what went wrong for the Gamecocks during singles play
“[Texas A&M] has a stacked lineup. From top to bottom, they’re one of the best teams in the country and have a legitimate right to win the NCAAs this year on paper. At the same time, I’m not thrilled with the way we came out in singles. But we’ll learn from it and move on as we always do.”
On what to look forward to next week
“We’ve got a great opportunity on Sunday against Alabama. Senior Day ââ’¬” it’ll be the last match for the boys at home, so we’re going to get ready for that one.” – Head Coach Josh Goffi
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- No. 27 South Carolina’s (16-7, 6-5) loss at Texas A&M snapped a four-match SEC win streak with one conference match remaining.
- Gabriel Friedrich and Thomas Mayronne are now 5-2 on the year in doubles with a 3-1 record in SEC play.
- Paul Jubb and Wood Benton improved to 3-1 on the year after posting a second-consecutive doubles win to clinch the team point for the Gamecocks.
- South Carolina has now won the doubles point in four of their last five matches.
UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
The Gamecocks will wrap up SEC play next week as they host Senior Day on Sunday afternoon against Alabama beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
For updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
