Skip to main content
Partner logo
Mobile Icon Link Mobile Icon Link Mobile Icon Link
Gamecocks+
Gamecocks Set to Host ITA Kickoff Weekend
Men's Tennis  . 

Gamecocks Set to Host ITA Kickoff Weekend

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 14 South Carolina men’s tennis team (3-0, 0-0 SEC) is slated to be one of the 14 sites hosting the 2026 ITA Kickoff Weekend, welcoming Clemson, Harvard and No. 24 Michigan State for the two-day event from Thursday, Jan. 22 to Friday, Jan. 23.

The Gamecocks will face Clemson in a Palmetto Series matchup on Jan. 22 at 11:00 a.m. to begin ITA Kickoff Weekend followed by Michigan State and Harvard at 2:00 p.m. The losers of each match will face each other in the consolation round on Jan. 23 at 10:00 a.m. followed by the winners at 1:00 p.m. in the championship match. The winner of this site of the ITA Kickoff Weekend will qualify for ITA National Team Indoors in Waco, Texas Feb. 13-17.

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

  • The Gamecocks are 3-0 for the 2026 spring season, opening the campaign at home with dominant wins over North Florida and The Citadel before picking up an upset ranked win over No. 10 Columbia in New York this past weekend.
  • South Carolina fought down to the wire against Columbia in a thrilling match, defeating the Lions 4-3 in a back-and-forth battle that ended with Atakan Karahan clinching for the Gamecocks from the No. 4 position in a three-set victory 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2).
  • 31 Max Stenzer and Sean Daryabeigi set the tone early against the Lions, grabbing the doubles point for the Garnet & Black in a tight 7-6 (10) win after Lucas da Silva and Paul Barbier Gazeu cruised past their opponents in a 6-1 victory.
  • In addition to Karahan, Stenzer and Gazeu picked up singles wins against the Lions as well – both in straight sets. All three Gamecocks are still undefeated in singles in dual matches with Karahan and Gazeu having three wins and Stanzer having two.
  • Stenzer and Daryabeigi are undefeated in doubles play in dual matches thus far, going 2-0 from the top of the lineup and 1-0 from the No. 2 position.
  • South Carolina was ranked No. 18 in the first ITA Poll of the year, released two weeks ago. In the most recent rankings announced today, the Gamecocks jumped up four spots to No. 14
  • In the SEC Preseason Poll, the team finished in the top half of the league at eighth for the second consecutive season.
  • Four Gamecocks currently have tabs in the ITA singles and doubles rankings. Sophomore Gazeu leads the team in the singles standings at No. 55 followed by da Silva who sits at No. 80 and Stenzer at No. 104.
  • Two pairs represent the Garnet & Black in ITA doubles rankings; Daryabeigi is ranked 31st with Stenzer and 88th with da Silva.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS

Clemson went 22-8 last season in dual matches which included a 8-5 ACC record. The Tigers opened the 2025 spring slate on a 8-0 run that included a sweep over the Gamecocks. The team advanced to the quarterfinals of the ACC championship, falling to defending National Championship Wake Forest 4-0. The Tigers qualified for the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second round before concluding their season after dropping their match against then-No. 9 Columbia 4-2. This past fall season Romain Gales earned All-American status after advancing to the round of 16 in singles at the NCAA Individual Championships, falling to defending National Champion Michael Zheng 6-3, 6-2. Clemson is 0-1 in the 2026 spring season, entering tomorrow’s match after falling in a tight 4-3 battle to LSU last Friday at home. The Tigers have four tabs in the ITA singles rankings: Romain Gales (No. 21), Edoardo Cherie Ligniere (No. 49), Yannic Nittmann (No. 93) and Henrik Bladelius (No. 110). In doubles, three pairs are ranked; Matisse Farzam/Marko Mesarovic (No. 28), Noa Vukadin/Bladelius (No. 52) and Manuel Plunger/Bladelius (No. 88).

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON

Harvard enters ITA Kickoff Weekend looking to get in the win column after starting the 2026 spring campaign with losses to the University of Memphis and Middle Tennessee. The Crimson are led by No. 71 Melchior Delloye and No. 109 Peter Benjamin Privara in the singles rankings. Harvard went 55-43 in singles and 19-11 in doubles during the fall slate of the 2025-26 season. Delloye and Privara qualified in singles for the NCAA Individual Championships, both falling in the opening round. Harvard went 20-7 during the 2024-25 dual match season and ended its season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against then-No. 10 Arizona.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS

Michigan State currently ranks No. 24 with four Spartans in the singles rankings, as well as two pairs in doubles. Matthew Forbes leads the team at No. 3, followed by Ozan Baris at No. 14, Vuk Radjenovic at No. 90 and David Saye at No. 103. The duos of Taym Alazmeh and Danial Rakhmatullayev (No. 14) and Saye and Mitchell Sheldon (No. 76) make up the team’s doubles rankings. The team went 17-10 overall which included a 10-3 conference record for the 2024-25 dual season. The Spartans made it to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament before falling to second seeded UCLA. The season ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament following a 4-0 loss to then-No. 12 Mississippi State. Baris and Forbes headlined the 2025 fall slate for Michigan State after both qualifying for the NCAA Individual Championships. Forbes advanced to the Round of 16 while Baris made a run to the Elite Eight, where he ultimately fell to defending national champion Michael Zheng in three sets. The Spartans opened the 2026 dual match season with a loss to Kentucky, falling 5-2.

SERIES HISTORY

  • South Carolina leads the all-time series record 72-43-2 against Clemson. The Tigers defeated the Gamecocks 7-0 in the last matchup on Feb. 7, 2025, snapping a nine-match win streak.
  • The Gamecocks lead the all-time series record against Harvard 9-2. The last time the two programs faced each other was in 2014 when South Carolina swept the Crimson 4-0.
  • Michigan State leads the brief all-time series record 2-0 against South Carolina, last defeating the Gamecocks 4-3 in 2018.

FOLLOW ALONG

Live scoring and live streaming will be available for all matches, check the schedule page for links. Fans can also follow along through in-match updates on X @GamecockMTennis.

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

 

Related stories