Sept. 15, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. ââ’¬” The Intercollegiate Tennis Association released its preseason rankings for the 2015-16 season on Tuesday, and South Carolina men’s tennis placed a doubles team on the list for the third time in four years. The team tandem of sophomores Thomas Mayronne and Harrison O’Keefe are No. 32 in the nation after an impressive freshman year by the pairing.

“Thomas and Harrison had a solid freshman year and deserve this preseason ranking,” South Carolina head coach Josh Goffi said. “It is great for us to know that we have a proven doubles team that can play at a high level. As the fall moves on, we will figure out what works best for the team as a whole. It’s a new year with a lot of new players, which means new possible combinations.”

Mayronne and O’Keefe were ranked as high as No. 44 last season before O’Keefe’s season was cut short due to an injury in late March. The duo went a team-best 18-11 on the season, going 12-7 in dual matches largely from the No. 2 spot. They were 3-2 against nationally ranked opponents, including wins against top-40 tandems from Texas A&M and NC State.

South Carolina opens its fall season Sept. 25-27 at the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta, Ga.