Gamecocks Take 4-3 Victory Over Ole Miss
March 18, 2017
OXFORD, MISS. — The No. 26 South Carolina men’s tennis team defeated No. 46 Ole Miss today in Oxford, Miss. at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center in a 4-3 battle. With the win, the Gamecocks improved to 14-4 overall and 3-2 in league play, while Ole Miss fell to 6-6 overall and 1-4 in the SEC.
South Carolina got off to a positive start by taking the doubles point with victories on courts three and one. Sam Swank and Alex Fennell dropped the first doubles match against Ricardo Jorge and Zvonimir Babic, with a score of 6-2. Gabriel Friedrich and Andrew Schafer defeated Gustav Hansson and Filip Kraljevic (23) to give Yancy Dennis and Harrison O’Keefe a chance to claim the doubles point. The victory is the pair’s second win over a ranked duo. Dennis and O’Keefe fought back from a deficit to even the score at five all. The duo forced a tiebreak, clinching the doubles point with a 7-6 (5) on court one.
In singles, freshman Paul Jubb doubled the Gamecock’s lead making quick work of his opponent in the No. 6 spot with a 6-4, 6-2 victory. The win increased his dual play record to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in SEC play. Schafer suffered his first loss of the season, falling to Tim Sankaulen in straight sets on court three. The loss snapped an 11-win streak and brought the score within one. Fennell stayed perfect on the weekend on court six, forcing the first set to a tiebreak then finding his rhythm in the second for a 7-6, 6-1 victory.
Friedrich (51) fell to Hansson (39) on court one in straight sets, cutting the Gamecock lead to 3-2 with two still playing. O’Keefe dropped his first set on court two to Jorge, but found his rhythm to dominate his opponent in the remaining set for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 final scoring to clinch the match. His victory marked the second time he clinched the match for the Gamecocks on the weekend. Dennis would fall to his opponent almost simultaneously on court four to make a 4-3 final score.
Quotable
Head Coach Josh Goffi: “This was the weekend of resiliency. Doubles was huge for the team today. The Rebs served for the doubles point twice at No. 1, but Yancy and Harrison just hung around and made it happened. We were a little tired from Thursday’s match and it showed in a lot of our starts today but the boys were able to hang in there and turn a few of the matches. The team has learned that if you hang around long enough when things aren’t going well there will always be an opening to get back in the match.
Harrison O’Keefe played a huge part in these wins, he stepped up and beat some very good players this weekend after being down a set in both matches. I’m very proud of the team for digging so deep and showing what it means to be a Gamecock.”
RESULTS
1. #39 Gustav Hansonn (UM) def. #51 Gabriel Friedrich (SC) 6-3, 6-4
2. Harrison O’Keefe (SC) def. Ricardo Jorge (UM) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
3. Tim Sandkaulen (UM) def. Andrew Schafer (SC) 6-2, 6-1
4. Fabian Fallert (UM) def. Yancy Dennis (SC) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
5. Alex Fennell (SC) def. Filip Kraljevic (UM) 7-6, 6-1
6. Paul Jubb (SC) def. Zvonimir Babic (UM) 6-4, 6-2
DOUBLES (2, 1, 3)
1. Yancy Dennis/Harrison O’Keefe (SC) def. #23 Fabian Fellert/Grey Hamilton (UM) 7-6(5)
2. Ricardo Jorge/Zvonimir Babic (UM) def. Sam Swank/Alex Fennell (SC) 6-2
3. Gabriel Friedrich/Andrew Schafer (SC) def. Gustav Hansson/Filip Kraljevic (UM) 6-3
Up Next
The Gamecocks will return home to host Vanderbilt Friday, March 24 and Kentucky Sunday, March 26. Admission and parking for all home tennis matches is free of charge. For the latest information on South Carolina men’s tennis follow the Gamecocks on Twitter and Instagram, at gamecockmtennis or check in at GamecocksOnline.com.
