No. 22 Gamecocks Claim Program Best Eighth SEC Win
April 14, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Gamecocks clinched their eighth SEC victory on the season, a program best, with Friday’s 6-1 win over Auburn. With the win, South Carolina improved to 19-5 overall and 8-3 in the SEC, while Auburn fell to 13-13 on the year and 3-8 in conference play.
Auburn took a 1-0 lead with a pair of doubles wins on courts one and two. Before the Tigers could clinch the point, the doubles duo of Andrew Schafer and Gabriel Friedrich claimed a 6-3 victory of their own on court three. Conner Huertas del Pino and Maxime Hinnisdaels (15) took a 6-4 victory on court one, followed closely by Edward Nguyen and Brandon Laubser on court two to take the point..
The Gamecocks came out firing on all cylinders in singles play, taking five first sets and sending just one singles match to a third set. Schafer contributed his point first with a dominating 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Huertas del Pino on court three. The victory increased his dual play record to 18-5 and was his 98th win as a Gamecock. Yancy Dennis wasn’t far behind, blanking his opponent in the second set for a 6-1, 6-0 win in the No. 4 spot. Fennell gave the Gamecocks a 3-1 lead with a commanding 6-3, 6-0 performance on court five. Friedrich clinched the match for South Carolina with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph on court two over Carles Sarrio.
The teams played out the remaining two singles matches. Freshman Paul Jubb took a 2-6, 6-1,10-3 win on court six, increasing his record 11-1 this spring. Harrison O’Keefe (76) battled his opponent to a 7-6 victory in the first set, but the second set ended abruptly when his opponent was forced to retire and make a 6-1 final score.
Quotable
Head Coach Josh Goffi: “It was a great team win, for all of our guys to pick up singles wins. I think it’s the first time we’ve done that, especially against an SEC opponent. Doubles point, we were a little shell shocked, dealing with the emotions of senior day. Our seniors mean the world to us so I think we didn’t get out the gate the way we wanted to but the response between doubles and singles play was top shelf. In singles play, we had three or four spots really go to work and never let up and that’s been a goal of ours all year.”
Results
SINGLES (3, 4, 5, 2, 6, 1)
1. #76 Harrison O’Keefe (SC) def. #50 Maxime Hinnisdaels (AU) RETIRED 7-6, 3-0
2. #38 Gabriel Friedrich (SC) def. Carles Sarrio (AU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Andrew Schafer (SC) def. Conner Huertas del Pino (AU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Yancy Dennis (SC) def. Olle Thestrup (AU) 6-1, 6-0
5. Alex Fennell (SC) def. Edward Nguyen (AU) 6-3, 6-0
6. Paul Jubb (SC) def. Dante Saleh (AU) 3-6, 6-1, 10-3
DOUBLES (3, 1, 2)
1. #15 Conner Huertas del Pino and Maxime Hinnisdaels (AU) def. #22 Harrison O’Keefe and Yancy Dennis (SC) 6-4
2. Edward Nguyen and Brandon Laubser (AU) def. Alex Fennell and Sam Swank (SC) 6-4
3. Gabriel Friedrich and Andrew Schafer (SC) def. Dante Saleh and Olle Thestrup (AU) 6-3
Up Next
The Gamecocks close out their regular season with Sunday’s match against Mississippi St. at 12 p.m. at the Carolina Tennis Center. For more information on South Carolina men’s tennis, follow the team on Twitter and Instagram at gamecockmtennis or check in at GamecocksOnline.com.
