Friedrich Advances to Second Round of NCAA Singles

NCAA Championship Central | Photo Gallery

May 25, 2016

TULSA, Okla. – South Carolina men’s tennis redshirt sophomore and 51st-ranked Gabriel Friedrich defeated No. 30 Florian Lakat of the University of California, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4), Wednesday in the First Round of the NCAA Tennis Singles Championships at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.

“Gabriel (Friedrich) fought his tail off today,” head coach Josh Goffi said. ” He fought the wind, his nerves and a player that gave him no rhythm. That’s a tough combination to deal with in a First Round, but getting through it sets him up for playing good tennis moving forward.”

Friedrich moves on to face South Florida’s Dominic Cotrone, ranked No. 47, in the Second Round Thursday at 12:30 p.m. CT. The two dueled earlier this spring in Tampa, Fla., but their match was suspended after the Bulls clinched the team victory over the Gamecocks.

Friedrich opened on serve and jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first set, but Lakat battled back to go up 3-1 before closing out the 6-2 first-set win. Friedrich, however, turned things around in the second set. After he and Lakat traded the first two points, the Brazilian ripped off five straight games to take the set, 6-1.

In the deciding third set, Lakat went up a break before Friedrich rallied back to even the score at 4-4. Both sides held serve and Lakat held match point with a 6-5 lead, but Friedrich pulled out an exciting deuce point to force the third set tiebreak. Friedrich gained an early 3-1 advantage in the tiebreak and never looked back, taking the tiebreak, 7-4, to clinch the victory and move on to the next round.

The win marks the Brazilian’s sixth win over a ranked opponent this season, including his second top-30 victory. Friedrich now has a shot at becoming the third Gamecock in the last four years to reach All-American status if he can advance to the Sweet 16. Under head coach Josh Goffi, a Gamecock has advanced past the First Round in either the NCAA Singles or Doubles Championships in each of the last three years.

Information, including live scoring, on both men’s and women’s individual championships is available at www.TulsaHurricane.com.