Men's Tennis . February 19, 2017

Gamecocks Fall to No. 22 Georgia Tech

Feb. 19, 2017

Pos.	*Singles (2, 4, 6, 1, 3, 5)**	Score
1.	#4 Christopher Eubanks (GT) d. #121 Gabriel Friedrich (SC)	7-6, 6-3
2.	#52 Andrew Li (GT) d.Harrison O’Keefe (SC)	7-6, 7-5
3.	Carlos Benito (GT) d. #107 Thomas Mayronne (SC)	6-2, 7-5
4.	Carlos Divar (GT) d. #110 Yancy Dennis (SC)	3-6, 6-2, 7-5
5.	Andrew Schafer (SC) d. Chris Yun (GT)	6-1, 6-3
6.	Cole Fiegel (GT) d. Alex Fennell (SC)	6-2, 6-4

Pos.	*Doubles (2, 3)**	Score
1.	Eubanks/Kay (GT) d. Swank/Fennell/O’Keefe (SC)	6-4
2.	#55 Benito/Divar (GT) d. O’Keefe/Yancy (SC)	6-2
3.	Friedrich/Jubb (SC) d. #60 Fiegel/Li (GT)	6-2

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina men’s tennis fell to No. 22 Georgia Tech 6-1 on Sunday at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex in Atlanta, Ga. The Gamecocks dropped their first doubles point of the season to fall behind 0-1 heading into singles play. The Jackets took first set wins on four courts on the way to five singles wins. Carolina’s Andrew Schafer put together a strong 6-1, 6-3 performance on court five for the Gamecocks in the loss.

The Gamecock duo of Gabriel Friedrich and Paul Jubb brought energy in doubles, claiming a 6-2 victory in the No. 3 spot over Cole Fiegel and Andrew Li, ranked No. 60 nationally, improving to 6-1 in doubles play.

The Jackets would find their rhythm in singles, establishing leads on four of six courts and eventually gaining the edge on the scoreboard. Cole Fiegel was the first off the court with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Alex Fennell at the No. 6 spot. The Gamecocks pulled within one when Schafer put forth a dominating win in the No. 5 spot to cut the Jackets’ lead to 2-1. Junior Thomas Mayronne (107) put forth a tough fight against Carlos Benito on court three, but lost 6-2, 7-5. Li (52) clinched the match for the Jackets with a 7-6, 7-5 win over Harrison O’Keefe in the No. 2 spot.

The Gamecocks played the match out, falling on courts one and four to make a 6-1 final score.

Quoting Head Coach Josh Goffi

“Credit goes to Georgia Tech. They outplayed us and outcompeted us today. It’s evident that they’ve been tested a few times this spring because they were more comfortable and more resilient in that tug-of-war part of the match. I’m looking forward to seeing how our team responds to this first loss. This is a big week for the team moving forward.”

Up Next

The Gamecocks will return to action at the prestigious Blue Gray National Tennis Classic in Montgomery, Alabama from Feb. 24-25. South Carolina will be joined by Alabama, Auburn, Boise State, Princeton, Rice, Texas Tech and Virginia Tech in the eight-team field with the matchups being determined by ITA rankings.