Resilient Seniors Continue to Elevate Program

April 10, 2018

The 2018 senior class for South Carolina men’s tennis will be a tough act to follow, but it’s their hard work and dedication that helped bring the Gamecocks back to national prominence and has opened the door for outstanding young recruits to follow in their footsteps.

“More than just being a talented recruiting class, they were hand-picked as far as character goes,” said South Carolina head coach Josh Goffi. “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.”

A slim seven-man roster this spring left little margin for error for the four Gamecocks playing their final season at South Carolina, but Wood Benton from Spartanburg, S.C., Gabriel Friedrich from Brazil, Thomas Mayronne from Louisiana, and Harrison O’Keefe from Virginia, are all big reasons why the program is on track to return to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year after finishing with a top 25 national ranking last year.

“We faced a lot of adversity in the beginning of the year,” Benton said. “We had a couple of injuries. We’re all so close. We have a lot trust in each other. We don’t get out-worked by anybody. Goffi has preached that. We take pride in being the toughest team in the SEC in that we may not have the most talent, but every match we’re going to come out and compete to the best of our ability. If they’re going to beat us, they’re going to have to go through us. Goffi just put that in us. Competing comes first.”

“The mindset going into this year is to try to leave a legacy and to try to leave the program in a better place than how we found it,” Mayronne said. “That’s what we’re doing. We’re trying to solidify our program as a top team in the SEC and a top 25 team in the country, year in and year out. I feel like our senior season is really setting up future Gamecocks to continue to make a move up.

“The guys before us really took the program to a new level and put us on the map. That helped bring us here. It was our job to take it to the next level and establish ourselves as a top 25 program. Now, we’re leaving it to the guys following in our footsteps. We’re doing what we set out to do with our blood sweat and tears to push the program forward.”

“I think the adversity we faced this year just made the team stronger,” O’Keefe said. “We rallied around each other. We’re surviving and advancing every weekend. That’s our mentality.”

“We set out standards pretty high this year,” Friedrich added. “We want to leave a legacy, so we just keep pushing our limits every day.”

The Gamecocks haven’t just talked the talk, evidenced by a thrilling 4-3 win over No. 17 Georgia and a pair of wins over top 40 foes Ole Miss and Arkansas. South Carolina also picked up a huge win at home over No. 10 Florida on April 1.

These guys are the model student-athletes.

Coach Josh Goffi

Each has his own special memory of their time on campus, on and off the court.

“Some of the best memories are on the court after big wins, like the one we just had over Florida, and being able to celebrate with these guys there on the court and in the locker room,” Friedrich said. “I’ll have those memories for a long time.”

“It’s the best feeling the world,” said Benton, who has had a flair for the dramatic with match-clinching wins over Auburn, Georgia, and Florida this year. “That feeling of clinching a match and having your teammates rush you on the court, that makes everything worth it. To have a few of those this year is unbelievable.”

“Not everybody gets to experience what we do in college,” Mayronne said. “I know if anything ever goes down, I can call these guys, and they’ll always be there for me. That goes for everyone on the team.”

For Goffi, it’s easy to sum up what each has brought to the program and how each of those strengths make the team successful

“Wood is tenacious,” Goffi said. “When Wood sets his mind to something, it gets done.

“Gabe is a pit bull. The guy is the alpha dog. He has led since the first day he got here. He’s been a massive part of where we are today.

“Thomas is the patriarch. He’s always been the protector of the program. He has held the values and tenants of the program to a `t.’ He always kept everybody in check.

“Harrison is stallion. He came in and was this loosey goosey 18-year-old kid, and he’s turned into an absolute beast and total stallion. He became a massive leader for what we are doing.”

With the success they have enjoyed on the court, they’ve also made their mark off the court as each has been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll every year in their respective careers, in addition to various other accolades and involvements on campus.

“That’s something we strive for; excellence on and off the court,” Goffi said. “These guys bought in from day one. They’ve done a phenomenal job in leading the younger guys and creating that culture. These guys are the model student-athletes.”

As the Gamecocks look to make a run in the postseason, the senior class is proud of how far they have come as individuals and as a program.

“I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a young man, and I’m ready for life after these four years in college,” Friedrich said. “Coming from Brazil, a lot of the older guys helped me out when I first got here. All of my teammates were always there for me to help me do whatever I needed to do.”

“I think I’ve matured a lot,” Benton said. “I came in as kind of a spoiled kid who didn’t know what the world was really like, and Goffi taught me really quick. When I came in, I had to run the mile in a certain time, and I didn’t’ make a few times. I had all the excuses in the world. I wasn’t allowed to practice until I ran it on time. I begged him to let me practice. It took me about three weeks to make the time, and ever since then, I think I’ve grown as a person which has really helped my tennis. I’ve learned a lot from Goffi about how to be a man and how to deal with adversity.”

“There are so many memories and experiences that are so valuable that I’ll take with me wherever I end up,” Mayronne said. “We’ve gone through so many different hurdles. Leaving school now, I’m a lot more confident that I can navigate, not just tennis matches, but life in general.”

“Next year we’ll have six freshmen coming in, and we have three guys coming back,” O’Keefe said. “Those three will do a good job to be the big leaders of the team. They know the culture and what is expected of them. I think they’ll do a good job of showing the freshmen about the culture we’ve set up and what they need to do. I think South Carolina will be in the top 10 in a few years.”

While graduation will be bittersweet for Goffi, the senior class continues to take ownership of the program.

“We have a great recruiting class coming in next year, but these guys (seniors) are a big part of that,” Goffi said. “We’re bringing in six guys. Our guys tell their stories to these recruits from the heart. We tell them not to `sell.’ We tell them to tell the real story and what exactly goes on here.”