Men’s Tennis Opens SEC Play on the Road
NORMAN, Okla. – The No. 34 South Carolina men’s tennis team (7-1, 0-0 SEC) kicks off SEC matches for the 2026 dual season out west this weekend, heading to No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 29 Arkansas. The Gamecocks face the Sooners on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 1:00 p.m. (ET) before wrapping up the conference opening matches against the Razorbacks on Monday, Feb. 23 at 2:00 p.m. (ET).
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- Last time out, the Gamecocks had a perfect 3-0 weekend at home to extend their win streak to four consecutive victories. South Carolina swept Presbyterian and SC State 4-0 in a doubleheader before picking up its third ranked win over the season against then-No. 20 Duke in a 4-1 showing
- Paul Barbier Gazeu and Lucas da Silva had perfect performances against South Carolina State and Duke, each winning both of their singles matches in straight sets. The Gamecocks paired up in doubles against both opponents, going 2-0 which included a ranked win over Duke’s No. 36 duo. Gazeu and da Silva went on to sweep the SEC weekly awards, being named Freshman and Player of the week respectively. The award marked Gazeu’s second honor of the season and da Silva’s first in his career.
- Gazeu and da Silva are undefeated in doubles this dual match season, holding a 5-0 record from primarily the No. 1 position. Additionally, the two Gamecocks are riding on a seven-match win streak.
- Sean Daryabeigi has a 4-1 record in singles matches, going 2-0 from the top of the lineup and 2-1 from the No. 2 position. The junior has won the past three consecutive matches. Freshman Charlie Swaine holds a 4-1 record in singles as well, anchoring the bottom of the lineup.
IN THE RANKINGS
- In the latest edition of the ITA singles rankings released earlier this week, da Silva leads the Garnet & Black at No. 44 followed by Daryabeigi at No. 51 and Gazeu at No. 70.
- In doubles rankings, Gazeu and da Silva jumped up 23 spots to headline the Gamecocks at No. 28. Daryabeigi paired with da Silva are tabbed at No. 48 while Daryabeigi and Stenzer round out the rankings at No. 86.
SCOUTING THE SOONERS
The No. 18 Sooners hold an 8-1 record going into SEC play after kicking off the season on a 3-0 run that included an advancement to the ITA Kickoff Weekend Championships where the team defeated Cal 4-2 before narrowly falling 4-3 to then-No. 12 UCF. Since then, Oklahoma has gone on a 5-0 run which includes four 4-0 victories. In the ITA rankings, senior Luis Alvarez leads the team in singles at No. 49 followed by Oscar Lacides at No. 79 and Asahi Harazaki at No. 89. Bruno Nhavene and Lacides rank No. 54 in doubles followed by Orel Kimhi and Johan Alexander at No. 71. Alvarez is 5-1 in singles, going 4-1 from the No. 2 position. Nhave and Lacides are undefeated with a 3-0 standing from the top of the lineup in singles.
SCOUTING THE RAZORBACKS
Arkansas is 9-2 so far this season, beginning the dual match slate on a 5-0 run before falling 4-2 to Yale. Since then, the Razorbacks have gone 4-1, most recently picking up wins over Nebraska and Creighton. Arkansas will face Memphis on Friday before facing South Carolina. In the ITA rankings, Jakub Vrba is the lone Razorback representing the team in singles at No. 18. The sophomore is undefeated in singles, going 4-0 from the top of the lineup and 3-0 from the No. 2 position. Connor Smillie and Vrba are ranked No. 66 in doubles with a 3-3 record.
SERIES HISTORY
- The Gamecocks lead 3-0 in the all-time series record against the Sooners, last defeating them 6-1 at home after Oklahoma made its SEC debut.
- South Carolina leads the all-time series record 26-11 against Arkansas, winning the past five consecutive matches against the Razorbacks.
FOLLOW ALONG
Both matches will be streamed on PlaySight with live scoring available on StatBroadcast. Links to each 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).
