Gamecocks Sweep Doubleheader in Nashville

March 10, 2016

Pos.	*Singles (3, 5, 2, 4, 1)**	Score
1.	Gabriel Friedrich (SC) d. Marcel Ueltzhoeffer (MSU)	6-3, 6-4
2.	Harrison O’Keefe (SC) d. Will True (MSU)	6-2, 6-1
3.	Thomas Mayronne (SC) d. Srdjan Trosic (MSU)	6-0, 6-0
4.	Sam Swank (SC) d. David Schrott (MSU)	6-2, 6-1
5.	Wood Benton (SC) d. David Hess (MSU)	6-1, 6-0
6.	Javier Villar (MSU) d. SC	(w/o)

Pos.	*Doubles (2, 3)**	Score
1.	Friedrich/Swank (SC) vs. Schrott/Ueltzhoeffer (MSU)	5-4 (susp.)
2.	Dennis/O’Keefe (SC) d. Trosic/True (MSU)	6-1
3.	Mayronne/Schafer (SC) d. Hess/Villar (MSU)	6-2

Pos.	Singles (1, 4, 5, 2, 3, 6)	Score
1.	Gabriel Friedrich (SC) d. #54 Danny Valent (VU)	6-4, 6-3
2.	Andrew Schafer (SC) d. Cameron Klinger (VU)	2-6, 6-4, 6-4
3.	Harrison O’Keefe (SC) d. Rhys Johnson (VU)	6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-5
4.	Thomas Mayronne (SC) d. Baker Newman (VU)	6-3, 7-6 (3)
5.	Kris Yee (VU) d. Yancy Dennis (SC)	6-4, 7-5
6.	Sam Swank (SC) d. Pen Binet (VU)	5-0, retired

Pos.	*Doubles (3, 1)**	Score
1.	Johnson/Klinger (VU) d. #54 Fennell/O’Keefe (SC)	6-3
2.	Friedrich/Swank (SC) d. #76 Valent/Binet (VU)	4-3 (susp.)
3.	Newman/Allwardt (VU) d. Mayronne/Schafer (SC)	6-1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. —South Carolina men’s tennis claimed its first SEC win of the season with a 5-2 win at No. 56 Vanderbilt to complete a doubleheader sweep on Friday afternoon. The Gamecocks (9-8, 1-2 SEC) opened the day with a 6-1 win over Murray State before redshirt sophomore Harrison O’Keefe closed out the Commodores with a three-set comeback that included a late service break in the third set.

In search of their first SEC win of the season after a pair of hard-fought losses last weekend, the Gamecocks found themselves trailing 1-0 after doubles play. They looked to establish themselves early in singles action, though, taking early leads in three of the first five matches on court. Gabriel Friedrich led from the top of the lineup, using an early service break to get in front of No. 54 Daniel Valent 3-1, while Thomas Mayronne pushed out to a 4-1 lead in his No. 4 match against Baker Newman. O’Keefe was making quick work of Rhys Johnson in the No. 3 contest with a 5-3 advantage, but the Commodores’ senior battled back to force a tiebreak, which he won shortly after Mayronne closed out his first set 6-3 over Newman.

Friedrich looked to switch momentum back to the Gamecocks, who had dropped the other three first sets, with a 6-4 first-set win over Valent that he followed up with an early break for a 4-2 lead in the second. His teammates followed with Andrew Schaefer shaking off a 2-6 first set with a 4-0 start to his second against Cameron Klinger on Court 2.

With the 6-4, 6-3 win from Friedrich, South Carolina leveled the match at 1-1, and was looking for more with Schaefer and O’Keefe forcing third sets. Mayronne made it a 2-1 Gamecock lead, holding off Newman in a second-set tiebreak to post a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win. Vanderbilt drew even when Kris Yee edged out Yancy Dennis in the final game of their second set to post a 6-4, 7-5 victory.

Winner of all four of his three-set matches this season, Schaefer stayed after Klinger until he put his team up 3-2 with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory, Schaefer’s 18th of the season. O’Keefe and Johnson were trading punches throughout the third set with the Gamecocks’ redshirt sophomore delivered at crunch time, coming up with a late service break for the 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-5 win that delivered the team win for South Carolina. Sam Swank picked up the final point for the Gamecocks when Pen Binet retired late in the first set.

In its win over Murray State, Carolina took the doubles point and won all five singles contests, while Murray State got on the board due to a walkover at No. 6 singles. Mayronne and freshman Wood Benton led the way for the Gamecocks claiming a pair of quick wins at No. 3 and 5. With his team leading 3-0, O’Keefe clinched the win for the Garnet and Black with a 6-2, 6-1 triumph at No. 2. Friedrich and junior Sam Swank added a pair of victories to close out the match.

Quoting Head Coach Josh Goffi

“Vanderbilt is a tough, well-coached team, and they didn’t give us anything at all. They made us earn everything we got today. Every one of our guys had to dig real deep, and that’s exactly what this team needed to start believing in all of the hard worked they’ve put in. I couldn’t be more proud of the boys today.”

Match Changer

After dropping their first sets, Andrew Schaefer and Harrison O’Keefe got ahead in their second sets, sparking Mayronne to fend off late second-set pressure to win the No. 4 match and give South Carolina a 2-1 lead.

Notables

Redshirt sophomores Harrison O’Keefe and Thomas Mayronne posted their 10th dual-match singles victories and 23rd overall singles wins, remaining tied for the team lead in both categories.
Redshirt sophomore Gabriel Friedrich defeated a ranked opponent in straight sets for the second time in as many outings. He has three wins over ranked foes this season.
Winning in its third SEC match of the season marks South Carolina’s earliest league win since claiming the second match of the 2013 SEC schedule.

Up Next

Following Thursday’s action, Carolina returns home to host No. 7 Georgia on Sat., Mar. 19, at 5 p.m. The Bulldogs, who finished as the SEC Runner-Up last season, are currently 7-3 and 2-0 in the SEC after topping Mississippi State and Alabama in Athens, Ga., last weekend.