Men's Tennis . January 26, 2018

Gamecocks to Compete in ITA Kick-Off Weekend

Jan. 26, 2018

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –

South Carolina at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend
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No. 20 South Carolina men’s tennis travels to Chapel Hill, N.C., to take part in the 10th-annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kick-Off Weekend Saturday and Sunday. The 4-0 Gamecocks will play two matches in the North Carolina Regional, starting with a 9 a.m. match against No. 17 Michigan on Saturday.

The winner of the single-elimination regional event earns a spot in the ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships in Seattle.

The Gamecocks look to top Michigan in order to earn a spot in the event championship, where they would take on the winner of No. 3 North Carolina and Drake on Sunday at noon. The losers of each Saturday match will face off in a consolation match on Sunday at 9 a.m.

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

South Carolina is ranked No. 20 in the Oracle/ITA Division I Preseason Rankings, making it one of five Southeastern Conference programs ranked in the top 25.
Four Gamecocks are currently ranked in the top 125 in singles. Freshman Francisco Cerundolo leads the team at No. 57, followed by Yancy Dennis at No. 63, Gabriel Friedrich at No. 74 and Thomas Mayronne at No. 117.
The Gamecocks got off to a 4-0 start in their first two weekends of competition.

QUICK HITS: MICHIGAN

Michigan started its season 2-0 with road wins over Washington and Boise State.
The Wolves boast two ranked singles players, No. 9 Alex Knight and No. 20 Runhao Hua, and the No. 19 doubles team in the country, Knight and Hua.
– South Carolina and Michigan have not gone head-to-head since February 9, 1979, when the Wolves topped the Gamecocks 6-3 at the NCAA Indoors in Madison, Wis.

QUICK HITS: NORTH CAROLINA/DRAKE

– The No. 3 North Carolina Tar Heels are up 3-0 on the season after wins over Bucknell, Wofford and Campbell. Four Tar Heels are ranked in singles, including the No. 2 singles player in the nation, William Blumberg. Blumberg pairs with Robert Kelly in doubles for a No. 3 national ranking.
Drake is currently undefeated with three wins over Tennessee Tech, Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan. Ben Clark leads the Bulldogs as their only ranked singles player at No. 124.

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks will return home to host Charlotte and South Carolina State next Friday. South Carolina will take on Charlotte at 11 a.m. and South Carolina State at 3 p.m.