Gamecocks Jump to No. 16 in Oracle/ITA Rankings

Feb. 21, 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. ââ’¬” South Carolina men’s tennis climbed to No. 16 in the Oracle/ITA Rankings announced Tuesday, after going unranked in previous weeks. The ranking comes after the Gamecocks began the spring 8-0, the best start to a season since 2004, with wins over Old Dominion and NC State. The team took its first loss last Sunday, Feb, 19 to then No. 22 Georgia Tech, to make a current record of 8-1 heading into the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic this weekend.

The Gamecocks have two ranked in singles, juniors Gabriel Friedrich (43) and Thomas Mayronne (105). Friedrich was named SEC Player of the Week last week, coming on the heels of defeating Old Dominion’s Adam Moundir, then No. 18, in straight sets. Friedrich is 18-6 in singles play overall, going 6-1 in singles in the No. 1 spot and 7-1 in doubles dual matches. Mayronne is 3-3 in singles play, all in the No. 3 spot, and 4-0 in doubles play. He went 11-6 in the fall, including a win over the nation’s No. 10 player at the ITA Regional Carolina Championship.

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 (50), Auburn, Boise State, Princeton, Rice (46), Texas Tech and Virginia Tech in the eight-team field with the matchups being determined by ITA rankings.

For more information on South Carolina men’s tennis, follow the team on Twitter and Instagram at gamecockmtennis, or visit GamecocksOnline.com for updates.