April 16, 2015
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 45 South Carolina got great singles play from its trio of seniors, but it was not enough to get past No. 25 LSU as the Tigers collected a 4-1 win in second-round action at the SEC Tournament at Mitchell Tennis Center. The Gamecocks will await the NCAA Tournament selection on April 28 to see if their season continues.
“Credit goes to LSU today,” head coach Josh Goffi said. “They made a big statement in the match by taking it to us in doubles, and they jumped out to big time leads in the lower part of our singles lineup as well. I am very proud of our seniors for the resilience they showed today after the doubles point. I hope they have more tennis to play this season but if they don’t, they ended their career the way they wanted to, leading the team.”
LSU took early control in doubles and put South Carolina on its heels with the first point of the match. The Tigers kept the pressure up in singles as well, but seniors Andrew Adams and Kyle Koch surged ahead in their Nos. 1 and 2 matches, respectively, and the momentum began to spread. After falling behind 1-3 in his No. 4 match against Andrew Korinek, senior Thiago Pinheiro got back on serve and went on to win his first set 6-4.
Adams fought off a late charge from No. 74 Jordan Daigle to claim his first set 7-5, and Koch rounded out the trio of first-set wins with his 6-3 decision over Chris Simpson. The Gamecocks’ youth was struggling, though, dropping their three first sets to keep the Tigers in front overall.
Andrew Schafer fell behind Boris Arias early in the second set of the No. 3 contest, and the Tiger put his team up 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-2 victory. Justin Butsch made it a 3-0 margin with his 6-3, 6-1 win over Sam Swank in the No. 5 match. Koch had his foot on the gas in the No. 2 match, though, putting the Gamecocks on the board with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Simpson.
Within a point of the match being decided, the Gamecocks were in full battle to keep the Tigers on the courts. Simon Freund was up a set and a break on Thomas Mayronne in the No. 6 match, but South Carolina’s freshman would not relent. Trailing 2-5, he fought off Freund for two more games before falling 6-3, 6-4 to close out the match.
#45 South Carolina #25 LSU
Doubles (Order of Finish: 1, 2)
1. (20) Jordan Daigle/Boris Arias (LSU) def. (29) Kyle Koch / Thiago Pinheiro (SC) 6-3
2. Justin Butsch/Chris Simpson (LSU) def. Thomas Mayronne / Sam Swank (SC) 6-2
3. Simon Freund/Tam Trinh (LSU led Andrew Adams / Andrew Schafer (SC) 5-3 suspended
Singles (Order of Finish: 3, 5, 2, 6)
1. Andrew Adams (SC) led (74) Jordan Daigle (LSU) 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 suspended
2. Kyle Koch (SC) def. Chris Simpson (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Boris Arias (LSU) def. Andrew Schafer (SC) 6-2, 6-2
4. Thiago Pinheiro (SC) led Andrew Korinek (LSU) 6-4, 5-5 suspended
5. Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Sam Swank (SC) 6-3, 6-1
6. Simon Freund (LSU) def. Thomas Mayronne (SC) 6-3, 6-4
