Gamecocks Drop 4-2 Contest to Wichita State

Jan. 24, 2016

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Pos.	Matchup	Score
1.	Tin Ostojic (WSU) d. #116 Alex Fennell (SC)	6-3, 6-3
2.	Miroslav Herzan (WSU) d. #65 Harrison O’Keefe (SC)	6-4, 6-1
3.	Andrew Schafer (SC) d. Jocelyn Devilliers (WSU)	6-2, 1-6, 6-2
4.	Thomas Mayronne (SC) d. Sergio de Vilchez (WSU)	6-1, 6-2
5.	Sam Swank (DU) vs. Haru Inoue (WSU)	susp
6.	Edward Stoica (WSU) d. Wood Benton (SC)	6-4, 6-4

Pos.	Matchup	Score
1.	Ostojic/Devilliers (WSU) d. Fennell/Mayronne (SC)	6-2
2.	#34 Herzan/Inoue (WSU) d. O’Keefe/Swank (SC)	7-6 (4)
3.	Benton/Dennis (SC) d. Williams/de Vilchez (WSU)	6-2

COLUMBUS, OHIO — No. 51 South Carolina men’s tennis wrapped up the two-day ITA Kickoff Weekend at Ohio State on Sunday with a 4-2 loss at the hands of No. 71 Wichita State.

The Shockers claimed a third-set tiebreaker at court two to take the doubles point and stretched their lead to 3-0 in singles with wins at the top of the lineup. The Gamecocks narrowed the lead to one with victories in the middle of the lineup before the Shockers clinched at No. 6 to take the match.

South Carolina opened with a split in doubles at No. 1 and 3. Freshmen Wood Benton and Yancy Dennis earned a 6-2 win at No. 3 while junior Alex Fennell and sophomore Thomas Mayronne fell, 6-2, at court one. All eyes turned to court two where teammates Sam Swank and Harrison O’Keefe were locked in a battle with the 34th-ranked tandem of Miroslav Herzan and Haru Inoue. Trailing 6-5, Swank and O’Keefe battled back to force a tiebreak, but the Shocker duo took a quick 2-0 lead and never looked back, winning the doubles point with a 7-6 (4) victory at No. 2.

In singles, it was sophomore Thomas Mayronne and junior Andrew Schafer picking up wins for the Gamecocks. With his team in a 3-0 hole, Mayronne started the rally with an impressive 6-1, 6-2 win over senior Sergio de Vilchez at No. 4, which gave him his second win of the weekend and improved his record to 4-0 this spring. Schafer brought the Gamecocks to within a point as he pounded home a backhand down the line to clinch his match in three sets, 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 over junior Jocelyn Devilliers. With Swank’s match headed to a third set, Benton was unable to hold off freshman Edward Stoica, falling 6-4, 6-4 to end the match.

Match Changer

With the teams even in doubles at 1-1, Wichita State’s 34th-ranked tandem of Miroslav Herzan and Haru Inoue won a 7-4 tiebreaker at No. 2 to take the doubles point, 7-6 (4). This proved costly for the Gamecocks as the opportunity for a split in singles would later be there for the taking.

Notables

Sophomore Thomas Mayronne went 2-0 on the weekend and is now 4-0 this spring.
Junior Andrew Schafer battled back from a loss Saturday to grind out a three-set win and improve to 2-1 on the season.
Wood Benton and true freshman Yancy Dennis is now 3-0 this spring and 5-1 overall this season.

Up Next

No. 51 South Carolina returns home for a doubleheader on Sat., Jan. 30. The Gamecocks welcome 42nd-ranked Georgia Tech for a 12 p.m. matchup before taking on The Citadel at 6 p.m. The first matchup will be played at the Carolina Tennis Center, weather abiding, while the evening matchup will take place inside the USC Field House.