Gamecocks Drop Road Match at No. 27 Mississippi State
March 11, 2018
STARKVILLE, Miss. –
No. 27 Mississippi State 4, No. 28 South Carolina 1
STARKVILLE, Miss. — No. 28 South Carolina (11-4, 2-2 SEC) dropped its final match of the weekend in a 4-1 loss at 27th-ranked Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Center.
The Gamecocks dropped the doubles point for a second straight match despite a quick 6-1 win from No. 34 Gabriel Friedrich and Yancy Dennis to begin the doubles portion of the match.
The singles matches were halted on two occasions due to weather, first during the opening sets of all six matches and the second stoppage coming with the Bulldogs leading the match 3-1. Mississippi State would eventually prevail winning, 4-1 following a 6-4, 6-3 win for the Bulldogs in the No. 2 singles match.
DOUBLES
The Gamecocks’ 34th ranked doubles pair, Gabriel Friedrich and Yancy Dennis improved their doubles record to 7-2 on the season with a decisive 6-1 victory to give South Carolina the advantage in the doubles point.
Mississippi State would respond however with 6-3 and 6-4 wins in the Nos. 2 and 3 positions to take the doubles team point.
DOUBLES (1,2,3)
1. Gabriel Friedrich/Yancy Dennis (SC) def. Nuno Borges/ Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-1
2. Niclas Braun/ Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Paul Jubb/Thomas Mayronne (SC) 6-3
3. No. 59 Florian Broska/ Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Harrison O’Keefe/Wood Benton (SC) 6-4*
SINGLES
Singles matches were halted briefly due to light rain showers in the area with all six courts still in the opening set. The Gamecocks trailed in four of six singles matches at the time of the first weather delay while the No. 2 matchup between Paul Jubb and Giovanni Oradini was deadlocked at 3-3.
Harrison O’Keefe would pick up his second straight singles victory with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Mississippi State’s Florian Broska to keep the Gamecocks alive.
Following a second short rain delay, Mississippi State closed out the match with a 6-4, 6-3 clinching win at the No. 2 position.
SINGLES (3, 1, 5, 2)
1. No. 4 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. No. 29 Gabriel Friedrich (SC) 6-3, 6-2
2. 23 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Paul Jubb (SC) 6-4, 6-3*
3. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Yancy Dennis (SC) 6-2, 6-4
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) vs. Thomas Mayronne (SC) 6-2, 5-3, unfinished
5. Harrison O’Keefe (SC) def. Florian Broska (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Trevor Foshey (MSU) vs. Wood Benton (SC) 6-1, 4-4, unfinished
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- No. 28 South Carolina finishes the weekend 1-1 for a second straight week and is now 2-2 in SEC play.
- Gabriel Friedrich and Yancy Dennis, the nation’s 34th-ranked doubles pair, improved their overall record to 7-2 on the season and have played from the Gamecocks’ No. 1 doubles position in each match together.
- Harrison O’Keefe improved his overall record to 7-6 and 3-1 in SEC play with his second straight singles victory.
UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
The Gamecocks will hit the road again next weekend as they embark on the second half of a four-match road stretch with a trip to Vanderbilt on Fri., Mar. 16 at 5:30 p.m. ET, followed by a visit to Kentucky on Sun., Mar. 18 at 1 p.m. ET.
For updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
