Gamecocks Sweep SEC Weekly Awards for Second Time this Season

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 22 South Carolina men’s tennis team swept the SEC weekly awards for the second time this season as senior Lucas da Silva was named Player of the Week and Charlie Swaine was tabbed Co-Freshman of the Week, announced by the league on Wednesday.

The honor marks da Silva’s second Player of the Week award of the season, while Swaine’s recognition gives the Gamecocks their third Freshman of the Week honor this year, with the previous two earned by Paul Barbier Gazeu.

Da Silva put together a perfect 3-0 weekend across singles and doubles in South Carolina’s SEC opener, extending his singles win streak to five consecutive matches after collecting two ranked victories. Against then-No. 18 Oklahoma, he teamed with Barbier Gazeu to secure a 6-4 win from the top doubles position, marking the pair’s seventh consecutive doubles victory. In singles he followed with a three-set win over No. 79 Oscar Lacides. Against then-No. 29 Arkansas, da Silva then delivered the match-clinching point in a 4-3 Gamecock victory with an upset of No. 18 Jakub Vrba, marking his second-highest ranked singles win of the season.

Swaine was a reliable anchor at the bottom of the lineup, going 2-0 in singles from the No. 6 position during the SEC opener. Against Oklahoma he rallied from a first-set loss to defeat his opponent, clinching South Carolina’s 4-3 upset victory. Swaine also delivered the Gamecocks’ first singles point against Arkansas and was the only South Carolina player in the match to win in straight sets. With the weekend’s performance, he improved to 5-1 in singles from the No. 6 spot this season.

The Gamecocks host No. 4 Texas for their SEC home opener on Friday, Feb. 27 at 1:00 p.m.

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