Feb. 5, 2016

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — No. 55 South Carolina men’s tennis sent three singles matches into third sets, but came away with a 7-0 loss to No. 10 Wake Forest Friday in the first of six straight matches away from home. The Demon Deacons took the doubles point with wins at one and two before edging out the Gamecocks with singles wins at four, five and six to take the victory.

In their first match at No. 1 doubles this spring, sophomore Harrison O’Keefe and junior Sam Swank came up short against Wake Forest’s 25th-ranked doubles tandem of Skander Mansouri and Christian Seraphim, falling 6-3. A tightly contested match at No. 2 ended with junior Alex Fennell and sophomore Thomas Mayronne dropping a 6-4 decision, while freshman Yancy Dennis and sophomore Gabriel Friedrich lost moments later, 6-3.

The Gamecocks came ready to battle in singles. In just his second dual match, Friedrich showed what has him in at the top of the lineup, taking No. 25 Skander Mansouri to three sets before losing 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4. Dennis also went three sets before suffering his first loss of the spring, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (3) at No. 6. After an impressive 7-2 tiebreak win in his second set, No. 116 Fennell couldn’t complete the comeback, falling 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-2.

The Demon Deacons received strong play throughout the middle of the lineup as No. 103 Jon Ho overtook No. 65 O’Keefe for the 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 3 to put Wake Forest up 2-0, and senior Romain Bogaerts outlasted junior Andrew Schafer, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 5. With his team holding a 3-0 lead, freshman Dennis Uspensky gave Mayronne his first loss of the spring and clinched the win for the Deacons, pulling out a 7-5, 6-2 win.

Up Next

The Gamecocks continue play this weekend as they head to Raleigh, N.C., Sunday to take on Bryant University at 9 a.m., and No. 32 NC State at 12:30 p.m.