March 29, 2015
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Senior Kyle Koch became South Carolina’s all-time leader in doubles wins on Sunday when he and Thiago Pinheiro won their match against The Citadel. Koch’s 88th career doubles win passes Olof Akesson, who held the record since 2000. The record-breaking moment came during the second match of the Gamecocks’ doubleheader today at Carolina Tennis Center. South Carolina defeated The Citadel 6-1 after falling to No. 17 Vanderbilt 4-0 earlier in the afternoon.
The Gamecocks were dominant against The Citadel, winning all three doubles matches 6-1 to take an early lead. Singles play was much of the same for South Carolina. Andrew Adams, Koch, Pinheiro, Andrew Schafer and Sam Swank each won in straight sets against the Bulldogs. Due to an injury suffered earlier in the day, South Carolina forfeited the match on court No. 6.
Against Vanderbilt, South Carolina raced out to 2-0 leads on all three doubles courts, but was unable to maintain the momentum. After No. 56 Thomas Mayronne / Harrison O’Keefe dropped their set 6-4, No. 31 Koch/Pinheiro traded blows with Commodore duo Gonzales Austin/Rhys Johnson at the top of the lineup. The Vanderbilt pair broke the Gamecocks’ serve and held the advantage until the match entered a tiebreak, which the Commodores took 7-6 (5) to clinch the doubles point.
Schafer was the Gamecocks’ bright spot in singles against Vanderbilt, battling for a service break to get to 6-6 and send the first set into a tiebreak, which he won 7-6 (2). The South Carolina sophomore went on to lead 2-1 in the second set, but had his match cut short when Vanderbilt sealed the tem victory. The Commodores earned singles points in the Nos. 1, 3 and 5 matches, topping Adams, Pinheiro and Mayronne, respectively.
South Carolina is back in action this Fri., April 3, traveling to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on No. 62 Alabama, followed by a trip to Starkville, Miss., where they will face off with the No. 34 Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Gamecocks’ next home match is on Fri., April 9, when they host Ole Miss at Carolina Tennis Center at 5 p.m.
#17 Vanderbilt 4, #42 South Carolina 0
Doubles (Order of Finish: 2, 1*) 1. Gonzales Austin/Rhys Johnson (Vandy) def. (31) Kyle Koch/Thiago Pinheiro (SC) 7-6 (5) 2. Baker Newman/Pen Binet (Vandy) def. (56) Thomas Mayronne/Harrison O’Keefe (SC) 6-4 3. Andrew Adams/Andrew Schafer (SC) tied Suresh Eswaran/Daniel Valent (Vandy) 6-6 suspended
Singles (Order of Finish: 1, 5, 3*) 1. (7) Gonzales Austin (Vandy) def. Andrew Adams (SC) 6-1, 6-1 2. Rhys Johnson (Vandy) led Kyle Koch (SC) 7-6 (6), 2-3 suspended 3. Daniel Valent (Vandy) def. Thiago Pinheiro (SC) 6-3, 6-4 4. Andrew Schafer (SC) led Kris Yee (Vandy) 7-6 (2), 2-1 suspended 5. Suresh Eswaran (Vandy) def. Thomas Mayronne (SC) 6-1, 6-3 6. Baker Newman (Vandy) led Sam Swank (SC) 6-2, 4-5 suspended
#42 South Carolina 6, The Citadel 1
Doubles (Order of Finish: 1, 3*, 2) 1. (31) Kyle Koch/Thiago Pinheiro (SC) def. Artemie Amari/Peter Bleach (CIT) 6-1 2. Andrew Adams/Sam Swank (SC) def. Oliver Dedding/Ryan Templet (CIT) 6-1 3. Andrew Schafer/Harrison O’Keefe (SC) def. Joe Bove/Jackson Pride (CIT) 6-1
Singles (Order of Finish: 4, 3, 1*, 2, 5) 1. Andrew Adams (SC) def. Artemie Amari (CIT) 6-0, 6-1 2. Kyle Koch (SC) def. Peter Bleach (CIT) 6-1, 6-3 3. Thiago Pinheiro (SC) def. Oliver Dedding (CIT) 6-0, 6-0 4. Andrew Schafer (SC) def. Jackson Pride (CIT) 6-0, 6-1 5. Sam Swank (SC) def. Connor Grady (CIT) 6-1, 6-3 6. South Carolina forfeits court #6
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