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Gamecocks Close Out SEC Play at Home Sunday
Men's Tennis  . 

Gamecocks Close Out SEC Play at Home Sunday

April 13, 2018

COLUMBIA, S.C. –

No. 27 South Carolina vs. No. 45 Alabama

Match Info

Opponent: No. 45 Alabama

Date: Sunday, April 15

Start Time: 11 a.m.

Location: Columbia, S.C.

Venue: Carolina Tennis Center

COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 27 South Carolina men’s tennis (16-7, 6-5 SEC) will host its final SEC match of the season this Sunday as it takes on No. 45 Alabama at Carolina Tennis Center beginning at 11 a.m. The Gamecocks have won four of their last five matches overall as they get set to host their final home match of the season.

South Carolina has won four straight home matches after defeating 10th-ranked Florida in its last match at Carolina Tennis Center on Apr. 1. The Gamecocks split their final road SEC matches last weekend, beating LSU in Baton Rouge for the first time since 2002 before falling to Texas A&M on Sunday.

The Crimson Tide have dropped four of their last five matches and will face ninth-ranked Florida on Friday night before making the trip to Columbia.

SENIOR DAY NOTABLES

  • The Gamecocks have a 66-44 dual match record since 2014-15, the first year on campus for the Class of 2018.
  • This year’s senior class has a combined 281-178 singles record and a combined 205-146 doubles record.
  • Friedrich has a combined singles and doubles career record of 122-78, and his No. 24 ranking on Apr. 3 was the highest non-preseason singles ranking for a South Carolina men’s tennis player since 2001.
  • O’Keefe is 158-95 in all matches during his career, which is tied for the ninth-most wins and eighth-most matches played in program history.
  • Mayronne has amassed a 133-96 combined career record in addition to being named to the SEC Community Service Team each of the last two seasons.
  • Wood Benton has a 73-55 combined career record and has three match-clinching singles wins during SEC play so far this season.

QUOTABLE

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On this year’s senior class
“More than just being a talented recruiting class, they were hand-picked as far as character goes. Year after year, regardless of any setbacks or injuries or any sort of adversity that’s come their way, they’ve always been resilient. They’ve really bought into the culture of what we do here.”

– Head Coach Josh Goffi

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

  • No. 27 South Carolina split its final SEC road trip of the season with its first win at LSU since 2002 followed by a loss at fifth-ranked Texas A&M.
  • The Gamecocks have won four straight home matches, all against ranked SEC opponents. South Carolina defeated 10th-ranked Florida in its last home match, the first top-10 win for the Gamecocks since 2013.
  • With a win on Sunday, South Carolina will clinch its fifth winning season in SEC play in program history.
  • No. 61 Paul Jubb (20-8, 8-2 SEC) is 5-1 in his last six completed singles matches and is on pace to post the fourth-highest SEC dual match winning percentage for a sophomore in program history. Jubb moved up nine spots in this week’s rankings after cracking the ITA top-125 for the first time in his career last week.
  • This week’s ITA rankings featured three ranked doubles pairs for South Carolina — No. 34 Gabriel Friedrich and Yancy Dennis (7-3, 2-2 SEC), No. 49 Yancy Dennis and Harrison O’Keefe (6-3, 3-2 SEC), and No. 74 Gabriel Friedrich and Thomas Mayronne (5-2, 3-1 SEC).
  • The Gamecocks have won the doubles point in four of their last five matches and posted two wins over ranked doubles pairs at Texas A&M last week.
  • Dennis and O’Keefe have won two of their last three doubles matches, while Friedrich and Mayronne are on a three-match win streak.

QUICK HITS: No. 45 ALABAMA

  • Alabama (16-9, 2-8 SEC) will travel to play ninth-ranked Florida on Friday evening before making the trip to Columbia for Sunday’s match.
  • The Crimson Tide has dropped four of its last five matches after splitting its final two home matches last weekend with a 4-2 win over No. 21 Georgia and a 5-2 loss to No. 24 Tennessee.
  • Junior Mazen Osama is the only ranked singles player for Alabama, moving up 24 spots to No. 26 in this week’s rankings.
  • Osama and Edson Ortiz came in as the No. 51 doubles pair in this week’s rankings after going 1-0 last weekend.
  • Alabama leads the all-time series 24-18, but the Gamecocks have gone 5-2 against the Crimson Tide since 2012, including a 4-3 win last season in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

South Carolina will conclude its 2018 regular season next week as the Gamecocks travel to face Clemson on Friday night beginning at 5 p.m.

For updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).

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