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Gamecocks Remain Home for Three Match Stretch
Men's Tennis  . 

Gamecocks Remain Home for Three Match Stretch

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 14 South Carolina men’s tennis team (4-1, 0-0 SEC) is set to host its second doubleheader of the season, welcoming two in-state programs on Friday, Feb. 6. The Gamecocks kick off the day with a 10:00 a.m. match against Presbyterian before facing South Carolina State at 2:00 p.m. The Garnet & Black then wrap up the week with a top 20 matchup, taking on No. 20 Duke on Sunday, Feb. 8 at 1:00 p.m.

All three matches will be held at the Carolina Indoor Tennis Center. Admission to the facility is free. 

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

  • South Carolina finished the ITA Kickoff Weekend two weeks ago with a 4-2 win over No. 24 Michigan State after dropping the weekend’s opening match 4-2 to Clemson. 
  • Multiple Gamecocks earned ranked wins in singles play over the weekend as well. Sean Daryabiegi went 2-0 over Clemson’s No. 21 Romain Gales and Michigan State’s No. 14 Ozan Baris. Lucas da Silva defeated Michigan State’s No. 3 Matthew Forbes, while Atakan Karahan beat No. 103 David Saye. Charlie Swaine had his first ranked win over Clemson’s No. 49 Edoardo Cherie Ligniere. 
  • Da Silva and Paul Babier Gazeu went 2-0 as a pair, winning 7-5 against the Tigers and defeating the Spartans’ No. 14 pair 6-2. Karahan and Cole Henceroth earned a 6-2 win over the Spartans’ No. 76-ranked pair. 
  • The Gamecocks opened the season ranked No. 18 in the first ITA Poll, but moved up to No. 14 after their 4-3 upset win over then-No. 10 Columbia. In the latest ITA ranking update released earlier this week, the team remained at No. 14
  • Following the first ITA singles and doubles rankings release of the year announced earlier this week, da Silva now leads the team in singles at No. 23 after jumping up nearly 60 spots from his previous ranking. Daryabeigi follows at No. 36 and Gazeu rounds out the Gamecocks’ tabs at No. 87.
  • In doubles, Daryabeigi and Max Stenzer sit at No. 34 while the duo of Gazeu and da Silva earned a spot at No. 51. Daryabeigi and da Silva are ranked No. 68 as a pair.

SCOUTING THE BLUE HOSE

Presbyterian started this season 2-0 with 7-0 sweeps over Emmanuel and Queens. Last season the team went 5-15, ending its campaign in the semifinals of the Big South Championship after falling to Gardner-Webb 4-1. Senior David Mamalat is the team’s top returner, finishing last season with a 7-12 record in singles from the top of the lineup.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

South Carolina State finished the 2024-25 season with a 15-3 record, wrapping up its campaign after claiming its fifth consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title with a 4-0 victory over North Carolina Central. The Bulldogs carried a 12-match winning streak into the first round of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship, falling 4-0 to NC State. Returners Iliyas Maratuly and Ivan Pauliuchenka finished the season undefeated in doubles (10-0), while Maratuly boasted a 12-1 singles record. The Bulldogs kick off their 2026 dual match season in Columbia.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS

The Blue Devils started the season 4-0, which included a top 10 upset over then-No. 9 NC State in the opening round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Duke ended up splitting results as then-No. 11 Texas A&M snapped its win streak the following day in a 4-2 victory. The Blue Devils are on a three-match losing streak, falling to Illinois and Kentucky alongside the Aggies. Pedro Rodenas is undefeated in singles with a 5-0 record from the No. 2 position. He ranks No. 90 in singles. Gerard Planelles Ripoll ranks No. 78 while Cooper Williams headlines the singles rankings at No. 47. Rodenas and Williams rank No. 36 in doubles as a pair. Last season Duke went 19-9 overall and 9-4 in conference play. The campaign ended in the second round of the NCAA Championships as the Blue Devils narrowly fell to Tennessee 4-3.  

SERIES HISTORY

  • South Carolina leads Presbyterian 20-10 in the all-time series record, entering Friday’s match on a 19-match win streak. 10 of the victories have been sweeps.
  • The Gamecocks have won all 12 of the matchups against South Carolina State.
  • Duke leads South Carolina 28-17, winning the last two consecutive matches in 2021 and 2022.

FOLLOW ALONG

Live scoring will be available on Stat Broadcast with live streaming on Track Tennis. Links can be found on the schedule page. 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).

 

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