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April 10, 2016

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#14 Florida- 6 || #62 SC — 1
Pos. Singles (3, 5, 1*, 2, 6, 4) Score
1. #17 Diego Hidalgo (UF) d. #66 Gabriel Friedrich (SC) 6-4, 7-5
2. #109 Alfredo Perez (UF) d. Andrew Schafer (SC) 7-6 (5), 7-5
3. #33 Elliot Orkin (UF) d. Harrison O’Keefe (SC) 6-3, 6-3
4. Alex Fennell (SC) d. Gordon Watson (UF) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
5. #84 Chase Blanco (UF) d. Thomas Mayronne (SC) 6-3, 6-1
6. Jordan Belga (UF) d. Wood Benton (SC) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
Pos. Doubles (2, 3*) Score
1. #3 Hidalgo/Watson (UF) d. Friedrich/O’Keefe (SC) susp.
2. #58 Lipman/Orkin (UF) d. Fennell/Swank (SC) 6-1
3. Perez/Blanco (UF) d. Benton/Schafer (SC) 6-4
#62 SC — 7 || SC State – 0
Pos. Singles (4, 1, 5*, 2, 3, 6*) Score
1. #66 Gabriel Friedrich (SC) d. Martin Figura (SCSU) 6-0, 6-2
2. Andrew Schafer (SC) d. Vladyslav Yanchenko (SCSU) 6-0, 6-4
3. Alex Fennell (SC) d. Jakub Vitek (SCSU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Harrison O’Keefe (SC) d. Cyprian Owczarz (SCSU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Thomas Mayronne (SC) d. Aleksander Stupar (SCSU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Sam Swank (SC) d. Edgar Diaz (SCSU) 7-6 (5), 6-3
Pos. Doubles (3, 1*) Score
1. Friedrich/O’Keefe (SC) d. Gilmutdinov/Yanchenko (SCSU) 6-2
2. Fennell/Swank (SC) d. Figura/Vitek (SCSU) Susp.
3. Benton/Schafer (SC) d. Baco/Diaz (SCSU) 6-1

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina men’s tennis had its two-match home winning streak halted on Sunday, falling to No. 14 Florida, 6-1, at the Carolina Tennis Center in the first of two matches on the day. The Gamecocks (12-13, 3-7) rebounded with a 7-0 sweep of South Carolina State to close its 2016 regular-season home slate.

Against Florida (13-6, 8-2), the Gamecocks jumped out to early doubles leads at No. 1 and No. 3, before the Gators gained the advantage with a 6-1 win at No. 2. Redshirt sophomore Gabriel Friedrich and sophomore Harrison O’Keefe hung tough with the nation’s No. 3-ranked tandem at court one, but Florida closed out a tight 6-4 battle at No. 3 to clinch the doubles point and go up, 1-0.

Carolina started strong in singles with first-set leads on three courts and staying even on another. Florida, however, pushed its lead to 3-0 with No. 33 Elliot Orkin’s win at No. 3 over O’Keefe and No. 84 Chase Perez-Blanco’s victory at No. 5 over sophomore Thomas Mayronne.

The Gamecocks refused to fold, showing the drive that has resulted in continued improvement for the young squad throughout the season. Redshirt sophomore Gabriel Friedrich battled hard before ultimately taking a 6-4, 7-5 loss to No. 17 Diego Hidalgo at No. 1, clinching the match for the Gators. But, Carolina kept up the fight as junior Andrew Schafer pushed No. 109 Alfredo Perez to the brink before falling, 7-6 (5), 7-5 at No. 2. Redshirt freshman Wood Benton won his first set before falling short at No. 6, but junior Alex Fennell rallied to get the Gamecocks on the board with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 triumph at No. 4.

In the second match of the day, the Gamecocks took care of business in doubles with a 6-1 win at no. 3 from Mayronne and Schafer followed by a 6-2 win at No. 1 from Friedrich and O’Keefe. Carolina stayed in command throughout singles play, sweeping the Bulldogs with straight-set wins on each court en route to its 11th win of the season.

Quotable

Head Coach Josh Goffi
“Our doubles is getting better. Unfortunately, we had a no-show against Florida in our two spot in doubles, but all the new strategies and teams that we are putting together in doubles is proving to work. We are going to continue to build there as that is the key to our success for the rest of the season. Guys are continuing to play well in singles. We played a tough Florida team today. A couple of deuce games didn’t come our way, but we are going to continue to move forward in the next week. We are really looking forward to playing some highly ranked teams in Ole Miss and Arkansas.”

Notables

  • Redshirt freshman Wood Benton entered the doubles lineup today for the first time since Feb. 7.
  • With his win against Florida, junior Alex Fennell becomes the fourth Gamecock to reach double-digit wins this spring.
  • Junior Andrew Schafer earned his 20th singles win of the season and 70th of his career with his triumph against South Carolina State.
  • Redshirt sophomore Gabriel Friedrich earned his 20th singles win of the season with a victory against South Carolina State.
  • Junior Sam Swank improved to 6-4 this spring with his win against South Carolina State.

Up Next

South Carolina concludes its regular season with road matches at No. 35 Ole Miss and at No. 16 Arkansas next weekend before hosting the SEC Men’s Tennis Tournament April 20-24 at the Carolina Tennis Center.

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