Gamecocks Fall to No. 17 San Diego in Tampa

Feb. 20, 2016

Pos.	Matchup	Score
1.	#20 Uros Petronijevic (USD) d. #Alex Fennell (USC)	6-0, 6-3
2.	#24 Jordan Angus (USD) vs. Harrison O’Keefe (USC)	6-4, 6-3
3.	Filip Vittek (USD) d. Gabriel Friedrich (USC)	6-0, 6-3
4.	Andrew Schafer (USC) vs. #120 Romain Kalaydjian (USD)	susp.
5.	Thomas Mayronne (USC) vs. Josh Page (USD)	susp.
6.	Alex Araouzos (USD) d. Sam Swank (USC)	7-5, 6-2

Pos.	Matchup	Score
1.	Fennell/O’Keefe (SC) d. #18 Angus/Vittek (USD)	6-2
2.	Swank/Friedrich (USC) vs. Petronijevic/Kalaydjian (USD)	susp.
3.	Mayronne/Schafer (USC) d. Page/Kononov (USD)	6-4

TAMPA, Fla. — No. 55 South Carolina men’s tennis suffered its second-straight defeat to a top-20 team, falling to No. 17 San Diego, 4-1, on Saturday at the USF Varsity Tennis Complex. The Gamecocks came out firing in doubles to go up 1-0 with wins at one and three, but the Toreros took over in singles en route to the victory.

Playing together for just their second time, sophomore Harrison O’Keefe and junior Alex Fennell dazed the Torero tandem of Jordan Angus and Filip Vittek, the 18th-ranked doubles tandem in the nation, with a 6-2 win at court one. O’Keefe and Fennell improved to 2-0 this spring with both wins at No. 1. Junior Andrew Schafer and sophomore Thomas Mayronne followed with a 6-2 victory at court three, giving South Carolina the early lead on the team scoreboard.

San Diego would open up singles play aggressively with first set wins on four courts. No. 20 Uros Petronijevic was first off the court as he defeated Gamecock junior Alex Fennell at one, while Vittek took down sophomore Gabriel Friedrich at three.

South Carolina didn’t go down without a fight. Schafer won his first set against No. 120 Romain Kalaydjian, 6-4, and was a game away from the win before the match was suspended. Likewise, Mayronne won his first set, 6-3, and was level at 5-5 in second as his match was suspended.

The Gamecocks, however, were unable stay alive. Junior Sam Swank dropped a heartbreaking first set, 7-5, and couldn’t recover as he fell in straight sets. No. 24 Angus closed out the match for the Toreros as he outlasted O’Keefe in a tight battle, 6-4, 6-3.

Up Next

Following this weekend’s action, South Carolina will travel to Clemson to round out its non-conference slate with its sixth-consecutive match away from home. The Gamecocks finally return home as they open SEC play against Alabama on Mar. 4, their first home match since Jan. 30. Carolina is 4-0 at home this season, including a win over No. 39 Georgia Tech.