Oct. 18, 2015
CARY, N.C. – Day Three of the USTA/ITA Regionals concluded on Sunday with a pair of Gamecock tandems advancing to the quarterfinals of the Doubles Draw. In singles, three Gamecocks reached the quarterfinals before bowing out.
“There was a lot of good tennis played today, but it wasn’t quite enough to get us through to the semifinals in singles,” head coach Josh Goffi said. “UNC and Wake Forest are the best teams in the region right now, and it showed in these matches. They exposed areas in our games that need to be improved. We can’t wait to get back to the drawing board and start that process.”
The No. 4 seed tandem of Gabriel Friedrich and Harrison O’Keefe moved past Jaun Estevarena and Charlie Ghriskey from the College of Charleston with a 6-1, 6-1 win. They await the No. 8 seed from Wake Forest, Romain Bogaerts and Maksim Kan. Yancy Dennis and Sam Swank beat Jon Ho and Keivon Tabrizi of Wake Forest and are set to take on three-seeded Vikram Hundal and Jordi Massalle Ferrer of UNC Charlotte.
Sophomore Thomas Mayronne and junior Alex Fennell took two-seeded Ian Dempster and Nick Horton from NC State to three sets before falling 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (4) to end their run.
In singles, South Carolina entered Sunday with five Gamecocks vying for a spot in the quarterfinals. Eight-seeded Gabriel Friedrich and sophomores Harrison O’Keefe and Thomas Mayronne each won in the Round of 16 to advance before falling short of the semifinals. The trio each earned four wins before dropping matches in the Quarterfinals Round.
After dropping his first match, freshman Wood Benton has won four-straight matches, including two on Sunday to qualify for the finals of the Consolation Draw. Benton defeated Shoti Meparidze of NC State, 6-2, 6-4, and Josh Swindler of UNC Ashville, 6-4, 7-5. He was set to take on Danny Bruce of Presbyterian in the final; however, consolation matches will not be played out.
Play continues Monday at the Cary Tennis Park. The singles semifinals and next two rounds of doubles will be contested. Consolation brackets have been canceled. For tournament updates, visit www.GoDuke.com or follow the team on Twitter (@GamecocksMTennis).
SUNDAY RESULTS
SINGLES
R16 (8) Gabriel Friedrich (SC) d. (13) Nick Horton (NCSU), 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
R16 Harrison O’Keefe (SC) d. (11) Christian Seraphim (WF), 6-1, 6-2
R16 (4) Jack Murray (UNC) d. (14) Andrew Schafer (SC), 6-2, 6-2
R16 Thomas Mayronne (SC) d. (15) Alex Fennell (SC), 6-1, 6-4
C16 Wood Benton (SC) d. Michael Chen (Win.), W/O
QF (1) Brett Clark (UNC) d. (8) Gabriel Friedrich (SC), 6-4, 6-2
QF (4) Jack Murray (UNC) d. Harrison O’Keefe (SC), 6-4, 6-1
QF (6) Skander Mansouri (WF) d. Thomas Mayronne (SC), 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
CQF Wood Benton (SC) d. Shoti Meparidze (NCSU), 6-2, 6-4
CSF Wood Benton (SC) d. Josh Swindler (UNC Ash.), 6-4, 7-5 DOUBLES
R16 (4) Friedrich/O’Keefe (SC) d. Estravarena/Ghriskey (CofC), 6-1, 6-1
R16 Dennis/Swank (SC) vs. (5-8) Ho/Tabrizi (WF), W/O
R16 (2) Dempster/Horton (NCSU) d. Fennell/Mayronne (SC), 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (4)
MONDAY SCHEDULE
QF (4) Friedrich/O’Keefe (SC) vs. (8) Bogaerts/Kan (WF)
QF Dennis/Swank (SC) vs. (3) Hundal/Ferrer (UNCG)
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Monday, Oct. 19 l 10:00 AM
Singles Semifinals, Doubles Quarterfinals & Semifinals
Tuesday, Oct. 20 l 10:00 AM
Singles Finals, Doubles Finals
