Gamecocks Sweep Clemson, UNC Asheville

Feb. 27, 2016

Pos.	Matchup	Score
1.	Alex Fennell (USC) d. Alex Favrot (CU)	Susp.
2.	Gabriel Friedrich (USC) d. Daffra Sanon (CU)	6-3, 6-2
3.	Thomas Mayronne (USC) d. Luke Johnson (CU)	Susp.
4.	Andrew Schafer (USC) d. Arturo Pinazo (CU)	6-0, 6-4
5.	Thomas Mayronne (USC) vs. Robert Dudley (CU)	Susp.
6.	Wood Benton (USC) d. Brent Lett (CU)	6-3, 6-3

Pos.	Matchup	Score
1.	Fennell/O’Keefe (USC) d. Favrot/Johnson (CU)	7-5
2.	Friedrich/Swank (USC) d. Pinazo/Ansari (CU)	6-1
3.	Sanon/Dudley (CU) d. Mayronne/Schafer (USC)	6-2

Pos.	Matchup	Score
1.	Gabriel Friedrich (USC) d. Alex Coker (UNCA)	6-3, 6-1
2.	Andrew Schafer (USC) d. Thomas Panoulas (UNCA)	6-2, 6-2
3.	Alex Fennell (USC) d. Henry Patten (UNCA)	2-6, 6-1, 6-2
4.	Harrison O’Keefe (USC) d. Josh Swindler (UNCA)	6-0, 6-1
5.	Wood Benton (USC) d. Reid Dillon (USC)	6-1, 6-2
6.	Sam Swank (USC) d. Olly Cull (UNCA)	6-2, 6-2

Pos.	Matchup	Score
1.	#51 Fennell/O’Keefe (USC) vs. Croker/Cull (UNCA)	7-6 (6).
2.	Friedrich/Swank (USC) d. Swindler/Patten (UNCA)	6-4
3.	Mayronne/Schafer (USC) d. Panoulas/Dillon (UNCA)	6-2

CLEMSON, S.C. — South Carolina men’s tennis put together a total team effort Saturday en route to a 4-0 win over Clemson and a 7-0 sweep of UNC Asheville at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center in Clemson, S.C. A comeback win in doubles by No. 51 Harrison O’Keefe and Alex Fennell gave the Gamecocks a 1-0 lead, and the momentum carried the Garnet and Black to its second straight win over Clemson and fourth in the last five meetings.

Carolina and Clemson split the first two doubles matches as sophomore Gabriel Friedrich and junior Sam Swank earned a 6-1 win at No. 2, while sophomore Thomas Mayronne and junior Andrew Schafer dropped a 6-2 match at No. 3. The Tigers looked all-but poised to claim the doubles point with a 5-2 lead at No. 1, but O’Keefe and Fennell reeled off five-straight games to post a 7-5 victory and give the Gamecocks the early lead.

With a large Gamecock contingent making themselves heard, the Gamecocks came out firing in singles play en route to first-set wins on all six courts. Schafer was first off as he notched a 6-0, 6-4 win at No. 4 over junior Arturo Pinazo. Friedrich then finished off junior Daffra Sanon, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2, before freshman Wood Benton capped off the sweep with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 6.

In the second match of the day, wrapped up the doubles point with wins by Mayronne and Schafer at No. 3 and Friedrich and Swank at No. 2. South Carolina shuffled the singles lineup, shifting Schafer to No. 2 for the first time this season. The South Carolina native stepped up and earned a 6-2, 6-2 win to move to 4-3 this spring. Carolina dropped only one set throughout singles on its way to the 7-0 victory.

The Gamecocks improve to 7-6 on the season as they gear up for the SEC portion of the schedule.

Quotable

Head Coach Josh Goffi: “We didn’t necessarily come out of the gates the way we wanted to on two of the doubles points, but we hung around and won and turned the tide and just relied on the training and ended up coming through. It’s been a tough month for us. We’ve got a young crew here that’s been building. They’ve been training like champions and have been total animals in practice. And that’s kind of been the thing we’ve been saying that you’ve got to keep on building. We’ve been coming up short against the top teams that we’ve been going up against, so ending the month on a high note is good for us, especially a major road stretch. That month is going to pay off in dividends in the SEC. We needed to toughen up this young group here and (have them) understand what it’s actually going to take to be successful moving forward in the SEC. I think it was good coming into a tough environment today (and winning).”

Match Changer

With doubles tied at 1-1, sophomore Harrison O’Keefe and junior Alex Fennell rallied from down 5-2 at court one to win the match, 7-5, and give the point to the Gamecocks. A large contingent of South Carolina faithful helped the team carry the energy into singles, where South Carolina won the first set on all six courts and eventually put the Tigers away.

Notables

With the win over Clemson, the Gamecocks add to the Palmetto Series lead, which currently stands at 8-5.
South Carolina has won four of the last five meetings with the Tigers and seven of the last nine overall.
Head Coach Josh Goffi moves to 4-2 versus his alma mater.
The win marks the Gamecocks’ first road win of the season.
Sophomore Gabriel Friedrich picked up his first two dual wins of his career with triumphs at No. 2 against Clemson and No. 1 against UNC Asheville.

Up Next

South Carolina plays at home for the first time since Jan. 30, launching its SEC slate against Alabama and No. 42 Mississippi State. The Gamecocks square off with the Crimson Tide on Fri., Mar. 4, at 5 p.m., before hosting the Bulldogs Sunday at 11 a.m. The weekend is designated as Alumni Weekend, and head coach Josh Goffi will welcome back former members of the Gamecock men’s tennis program for an assortment of activities surrounding the match dates.