Men's Tennis . February 23, 2026

Gamecocks Defeat Arkansas in Comeback Victory

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 34 South Carolina men’s tennis team (9-1, 2-0 SEC) earned its sixth consecutive win on Monday afternoon, taking down No. 29 Arkansas 4-3 in a comeback win after dropping the doubles point to move to 2-0 in conference play. The match was tightly contested throughout singles play, with four matches going to third sets. Despite dropping the doubles point, the Gamecocks battled back with four singles victories from both the top and bottom of the lineup, highlighting the team’s depth.

Doubles play started off close but momentum began to shift in favor of Arkansas when the top and bottom courts each built 3-2 leads. The Gamecocks answered to level both at 3-3 but Arkansas pushed ahead again, with all three Gamecock pairs trailing 4-3. Jakub Vrba and Connor Smillie reached match point over Sean Daryabeigi and Max Stenzer but the pair fought to stay alive, trimming a 5-3 deficit to 5-4 after a crucial deuce-game hold. Meanwhile, Lucas da Silva and Paul Barbier Gazeu faced the same scoreline, racing out to 40-0 before Arkansas battled back to deuce, only for the Gamecocks to hold firm and close within one game at 5-4.

Ultimately the Razorbacks took the doubles point kickstarted by Jakub Vrba and Connor Smillie who secured a 6-4 victory over Daryabeigi and Stenzer at the No. 2 position. On court three, Dmitry Kopilevick and Brendan Boland edged Atakan Karahan and Cole Henceroth by the same 6-4 margin to put Arkansas on the board first.

South Carolina continued to struggle at the start of singles play as the Razorbacks claimed first set wins on four courts. Daryabeigi and Charlie Swaine were the lone Gamecocks who claimed opening set wins, going 6-4 and 7-5 respectively. Arkansas took a 2-0 lead after Stenzer fell 6-3, 6-1 on court four but Swaine started to close the gap, getting the Gamecocks on the board after winning his match in straight sets 7-5, 6-4. Gabe Avram built on the momentum, bouncing back to win his second set 6-2 and force a third while Gazeu followed and triggered a third after a 6-3 showing in his second.

Arkansas got within one of clinching the match as Gazeu fell in three sets, but the Gamecocks stepped on the gas with Daryabeigi picking up a win from the second position to cut the Razorbacks’ lead to 3-2. In comeback fashion, Avram leveled out the match at 3-3 after winning his last two sets 6-2, 7-5. It all came down the top of the lineup where da Silva was battling No. 18 Jakub Vrba in his third set after narrowly winning the second in a tiebreak. The senior sealed the deal, winning his final set 6-4 to clinch the victory with his third ranked singles win of the season.

The Gamecocks host No. 3 Texas for their SEC home opener this Friday, Feb. 27 at 1:00 p.m. before heading to No. 15 Florida on Sunday, March 1 for a 12:00 p.m. first serve.

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

No. 34 South Carolina 4, No. 29 Arkansas 3

DOUBLES (order of finish: 2,3)

Ben Weintraub/Eric Padgham (ARK) led No. 28 Lucas da Silva/Paul Barbier Gazeu (SC) 5-4
66 Jakub Vrba/Connor Smillie (ARK) def. No. 86 Sean Daryabeigi/Max Stenzer (SC) 6-4
Dmitry Kopilevick/Brendan Boland (ARK) def. Atakan Karahan/Cole Henceroth (SC) 6-4

SINGLES (order of finish: 4, 6 ,3, 2, 5, 1)