No. 16 Gamecocks Take on Blue Gray Invite
Feb. 23, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 16 South Carolina men’s tennis will face Texas Tech in the first round of the Blue Gray National Tennis Invite Friday, Feb. 24 at 12:30 p.m. in Montgomery, Alabama at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center.
The Gamecocks received a No. 1 seed after being ranked No. 16 in this week’s Oracle/ITA national team rankings. No. 46 Rice University received the No. 2 seed with Alabama, Auburn, Princeton, Virginia Tech, Boise State and Texas Tech filling out the tournament pool.
Quotable
Head Coach Josh Goffi: “We are really honored to have been invited to play in the Blue Gray. It’s a special tournament because of the community involvement and because of its long and rich history. So many great teams and players have participated in the Blue Gray, including my father back in 1971 with his team from Corpus Christi.
The ranking we received is nice but there’s a lot of season left and a lot more to gain. Every day we will try to improve as individuals and as a team so we can be ready to play our best in May.”
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- The Gamecocks are 8-1 on the season, notching wins over NC State and Old Dominion with their one loss coming from then No. 22 Georgia Tech.
- The Gamecocks boast two ranked in singles Gabriel Friedrich (43) and Thomas Mayronne (105).
- South Carolina is ranked No. 16 nationally, the team’s highest ranking since 2009.
- Head coach Josh Goffi is in his seventh season with the Gamecocks.
QUICK HITS: TEXAS TECH
- Texas Tech is 4-6 in dual play with losses to No. 25 Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and Alabama.
- The Red Raiders boast one ranked in singles, senior Jolan Cailleau (54).
- The 2015-16 team finished ranked No. 11 with an overall record of 28-6 on the way to capturing the program’s first Big 12 regular season championship.
- Head coach Brett Masi was named Big 12 Co-Head Coach of the Year last season.
Up Next
The Gamecocks will play the winner of the Auburn vs. Princeton match, with the doubles portion being played Friday, Feb. 24 and the singles on Saturday, Feb. 25 to determine who will move on to the final of the Blue Gray National Invite to be played Saturday.
