Nov. 6, 2015
ORLANDO, Fla. – The South Carolina men’s tennis team wrapped up Day Two at the USTA Clay Court Invitational on Friday with three Gamecocks advancing to the quarterfinals of their respective draw in singles and two doubles teams moving on to the semifinals.
In the Gold Draw, seventh-seeded Gabriel Friedrich reached the quarterfinals after topping Louisville’s Jeffrey Brown, 6-0, 6-2, while sophomore Harrison O’Keefe continued his big start to the event with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Penn State’s Aws Laaribi to advance. Friedrich is set to take on Troy’s Giovani Samaha, who knocked off the tournament’s top seed in the first round, on Saturday. O’Keefe will duel Jimmy Bendeck of Baylor with a shot at the semifinals.
Redshirt freshman Wood Benton reached the quarterfinals of the Garnet Draw after defeating No. 6 Inaki Espindola of UCF. The 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win is his 10th win of the fall and seventh in a row, and he will square off with No. 1 seed Tomas Hanzlik of Penn State on Saturday.
Juniors Alex Fennell and Sam Swank fell just shy of the quarterfinals in their respective draws. Fennell dropped a three-set match to William Little of Baylor, while Swank was downed by Gabe Tishman of Michigan, 6-3, 6-4. Yancy Dennis was impressive in his two wins in the Garnet Consolation Draw, picking up a 6-3, 6-3 win over Nico De Fraia of UCF and a 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (4) win over Lucas Vaz of Florida Gulf Coast. Dennis will take on Louisville’s Christopher Morin looking to advance to the consolation finals.
Both doubles teams in action notched victories to advance to the semifinals of their draws. In the Gold Draw, fourth-seeded Friedrich and O’Keefe took cruised past brothers Terrance and Terrell Whitehurst from host Florida State, 8-2, and are set to battle No. 2 seed Guilherme Hadlich and Gabriel Sidney. In the Garnet Draw, Benton and Dennis took down No. 1 seed Marc Collado and Nika Dolidze and get set to meet No. 3 seed Sean Donohue and Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff of Louisville looking to reach the finals.
The Gamecocks continue play at the USTA Clay Court Invitational Saturday with singles starting at 8 a.m. and doubles in the afternoon. For tournament updates, visit www.Seminoles.com. For results and team updates, visit www.GamecocksOnline.com and follow the team on Twitter (@GamecockMTennis).
FRIDAY RESULTS
Singles – Gold
R16 – (7) Gabriel Friedrich (SC) def. Jeffrey Brown (Louisville), 6-0, 6-2
R16 – Harrison O’Keefe (SC) def. Aws Laaribi (PSU), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
R16 – William Little (BU) def. Alex Fennell (SC), 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
Singles – Garnet
R16 – Wood Benton (SC) def. (6) Inaki Espindola (UCF), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
R16 – Gabe Tishman (Michigan) def. Sam Swank (SC), 6-3, 6-4
C16 – Yancy Dennis (SC) def. Nico De Fraia (UCF), 6-3, 6-3
CQF – Yancy Dennis (SC) vs. Lucas Vaz (FGCU), 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (4)
Doubles – Gold
QF – (4) Friedrich/O’Keefe (SC) vs. Whitehurst/Whitehurst (FSU), 8-2
Doubles – Garnet
QF – Benton/Dennis (SC) vs. (1) Collado/Dolidze (PSU), 8-4
SATURDAY MATCHUPS
Singles – Gold
QF – (7) Gabriel Friedrich (SC) vs. Giovani Samaha (Troy)
QF – Harrison O’Keefe (SC) vs. Jimmy Bendeck (BU)
CQF – Alex Fennell (SC) vs. Loic Blanco (SU)
Singles – Garnet
QF – Wood Benton (SC) vs. (1) Tomas Hanzlik (PSU)
CQF – Sam Swank (SC) vs. Andre Baldo (Troy)
CSF – Yancy Dennis (SC) vs. Christopher Morin (Louisville)
Doubles – Gold
SF – (4) Friedrich/O’Keefe (SC) vs. (2) Hadlich/Sidney (Pepperdine)
Doubles – Garnet
SF – Benton/Dennis (SC) vs. (3) Donohue/Morin (Louisville)
