Gamecocks Hit The Road For Three-Match Weekend

Feb. 12, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 23 South Carolina (5-3) is on the road this weekend, playing a trio of matches over the course of three days for the second consecutive weekend. The Gamecocks will take on Belmont (5-3) and Middle Tennessee State (4-2) at 2 and 6 p.m., respectively, on Fri., Feb. 13, then face No. 21 Memphis (3-1) on Sunday. All three matches will be played at Nashboro Village Athletic Club in Nashville, Tenn.

The Gamecocks will look to put a weekend of near-misses behind them, looking to build on the 4-2 victory over Wofford that capped the busy three-day stretch. An injury changed up the doubles lineup last weekend, but the Gamecocks continue to shine at the start of matches, winning the doubles point in seven of eight matches this season. The freshman duo of Thomas Mayronne and Harrison O’Keefe held on to its No. 46 national ranking this week behind a 4-2 dual-match record that included at clutch win over NC State’s 19th-ranked duo to clinch the doubles point to open last Sunday’s doubleheader. Senior Kyle Koch continues to solidify his legacy as one of the top doubles players in program history, lifting his individual record to 6-1 in dual matches while teaming with both of his fellow seniors – Thiago Pinheiro and Andrew Adams – over the course of the season.

South Carolina’s singles lineup features two ranked players, No. 103 Koch and No. 120 Andrew Schafer. At 11-8 overall this season, Schafer has played in the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 spots in dual matches, during which he is 4-3. Koch has been the Gamecocks’ most consistent singles performer. With a dual-match record of 6-1, the hard-serving senior has won four straight matches, including three that required a third set. O’Keefe has anchored the bottom of the South Carolina lineup, playing the first six matches out of the No. 5 position and the last two at No. 4. The freshman heads into the weekend with a 6-2 dual-match record.

Belmont opened the season with a three-match winning streak that included victories over Georgetown, Campbell and Richmond. The Bruins lost their first match of the season against No. 23 Vanderbilt but have gone 2-2 since, including last weekend’s 4-3 win over Dayton. Senior Mauricio Antun leads the Bruins out of the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles play. The Sao Paulo, Brazil, native enters the weekend at 5-3 in dual-match singles action.

It has been an up and down season for Middle Tennessee State thus far as the Blue Raiders came out of the gates roaring, toppling Chattanooga, Murray State and Jackson State by a combined score of 20-1. A pair of losses to top-30 opponents NC State and Vanderbilt by a combined 13-1 margin bookended a 5-2 victory over Tennessee Tech. Ben Davis (3-2), who has played all but one match out of the No. 1 position, leads the Blue Raiders. Robin Riethmueller owns the team’s best singles record at 4-1 and plays the majority of his matches out of the No. 6 spot. His one loss on the season came at the hands of No. 124 Nick Horton of NC State.

No. 21 Memphis, the Gamecocks’ final opponent of the weekend, will pose the greatest challenge. The Tigers’ roster features a pair of ranked singles players in No. 40 Andrew Watson (2-1) and No. 102 Connor Glennon (2-1). Glennon plays the No. 1 position while Watson holds down the No. 2 spot. Memphis has not played a match since January but has already faced off against a pair of ranked opponents, defeating then-No. 22 Clemson 4-2 and losing to then-No. 12 Duke 4-0. The Tigers have since tallied wins against Chattanooga and Murray State, each by a 7-0 score.

South Carolina’s trip to Nashville is the first of three straight weekends away from Columbia. The Gamecocks head to California next weekend to take on San Diego and San Diego State before opening SEC play at Auburn and Florida the last weekend of the month.