Gamecocks Begin SEC Road Trip With Friday Night Win Over LSU
April 6, 2018
BATON ROUGE, La. –
No. 27 South Carolina 5, LSU 2
Baton Rouge, La. — No. 27 South Carolina men’s tennis (16-6, 6-4 SEC) pushed its win streak to four after a decisive 5-2 win over LSU (8-13, 1-8 SEC) on Friday night at the LSU Tennis Complex.
South Carolina clinched the doubles point for a third time in four matches before wins from the Nos. 5, 2 and 3 singles clinched the Gamecocks’ first road win over LSU since 2002. No. 70 Paul Jubb, last week’s SEC Player of the Week, improved to 20-7 overall on the year and picked up a fourth-straight singles win, while Thomas Mayronne overcame a first set loss to prevail in a three-set tiebreaker in his return to his homestate.
DOUBLES
The Gamecocks made quick work of doubles as No. 57 Yancy Dennis and Harrison O’Keefe took out the Tigers’ No. 1 doubles pair, Rafael Wagner and Agie Moreno, 6-2.
Jubb and Wood Benton won four straight games to take down Stewart Block and Shane Monroe of LSU, clinching the doubles point for South Carolina. “That’s one of the better doubles points we’ve probably played this year,” said South Carolina head coach Josh Goffi after the match.
DOUBLES (1,3*)
1. Yancy Dennis/Harrison O’Keefe (SC) def. Rafael Wagner/Agie Moreno (LSU) 6-2
2. Nikola Samardzic/Julian Saborio (LSU) vs. Gabriel Friedrich/Thomas Mayronne (SC) 3-5, unfinished
3. Paul Jubb/Wood Benton (SC) def. Stewart Block/Shane Monroe (LSU) 6-2*
SINGLES
Harrison O’Keefe quickly took out Agie Moreno of LSU, 6-2, 6-0 to put the Gamecocks ahead in the match 2-0. “He’s getting better every week and he came out here and looked sharp today,” said Goffi.
Jubb was next to clinch for South Carolina with second-set tiebreak win a 6-1, 7-6 (5) to improve to 8-1 in SEC play.
Yancy Dennis clinched the team win for the Gamecocks on court three with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Nikola Samardzic. Thomas Mayronne would later overcome a first-set loss to win 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 (3).
SINGLES (5,6,2,3*,4,1)
1. Shane Monroe (LSU) def. (24) Gabriel Friedrich (SC) 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (7)
2. (70) Paul Jubb (SC) def. Rafael Wagner (LSU) 6-1, 7-6 (5)
3. Yancy Dennis (SC) def. Nikola Samardzic (LSU) 6-4, 6-3*
4. Thomas Mayronne (SC) def. Julian Saborio (LSU) 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 (3)
5. Harrison O’Keefe (SC) def. Agie Moreno (LSU) 6-2, 6-0
6. Stewart Block (LSU) def. Wood Benton (SC) 6-4, 6-3
QUOTABLE
On initial reaction to Friday’s win
“It was awesome. We told the guys, if you come out hot, fast and live up to that reputation they’ve built as a tough team that doesn’t go away. We’re a tough team and if we get on top of you early, that’s a tough combo to deal with. That was the goal today and the guys did that, pretty much across all six courts.”
On the message to the team going into No. 5 Texas A&M
“Get hungry, there’s a lot to eat there on the table. It’s the same thing going into any big match. We’re going to bring what we bring to the table every single match– our controllables, our tenacity and the ability to stick to points and play every point, every game and every set in every match.” – Head Coach Josh Goffi
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- No. 26 South Carolina has now won four SEC matches in a row.
- Friday’s win was the first road win at LSU since a 5-2 win over the Tigers in March of 2002.
- South Carolina has now won the doubles point in three of their last four matches.
- Paul Jubb, last week’s SEC Player of the Week, is now 20-7 in singles play and 8-1 during SEC play. Jubb has won four straight, is 5-0 in his last six matches and 9-1 in his last 11.
- Yancy Dennis (23-11, 4-6 SEC) has won four of his last five singles matches and now leads the Gamecocks in singels wins on the season.
UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
The Gamecocks will wrap up their final SEC road trip of the season with a trip to play Texas A&M on Sunday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
For updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
