Gamecocks Open Spring Season at Home
Jan. 12, 2018
COLUMBIA, S.C. –
No. 20 South Carolina men’s tennis kicks off the spring season hosting The Citadel on Saturday. The Gamecocks will take on the Bulldogs in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. at the Carolina Tennis Center.
Head coach Josh Goffi and the Gamecocks aim to continue building off a fall season filled with individual successes, led by freshman Francisco Cerundolo, now ranked No. 57 in singles. The Gamecocks earned three more spots in the individual top 125 with junior Yancy Dennis at No. 63, senior Gabriel Friedrich at No. 74 and fellow senior Thomas Mayronne at No. 117.
Admission to Saturday’s match is free. For those unable to attend, follow @GamecockMTennis on Twitter for updates throughout the event. Live stats will also be available online, here.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Josh Goffi: “I haven’t had a team that has been this excited to start the season since I’ve started coaching. This is a mature squad led by four seniors- Wood Benton, Thomas Mayronne, Harrison O’Keefe, and Gabriel Friedrich. They’ve done an amazing job leading and are really responsible for the excitement that everyone is bringing. It’s going to be fun tackling whatever lies ahead with this team.”
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- The Gamecocks went 21-7 in the 2017 spring season, finishing No. 21 in the national rankings. The team qualified for the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the second round before falling to North Carolina.
- South Carolina is ranked No. 20 in the Oracle/ITA Division I Preseason Rankings, making them one of five Southeastern Conference programs ranked in the top 25.
- Freshman Francisco Cerundolo topped three ranked opponents in the fall to earn his No. 57 ranking. He recorded his most impressive win of the fall over Tennessee’s No. 17 Timo Stodder, finishing the match 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
QUICK HITS: THE CITADEL
- The Bulldogs come off their season opener at the Florida Early Spring Challenge where they took on Florida A&M. The Citadel tallied 19 wins in singles play and went 2-6 in doubles at the challenge.
- In the 2017 spring season, the Bulldogs went 11-32, earning the program’s highest number of wins since 2008 when they went 15-11.
- South Carolina holds a 25-4 record over The Citadel, going 7-0 twice in last season’s doubleheader against the Bulldogs.
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