Gamecocks Battle but Fall Short at No. 21 Kentucky
March 18, 2018
LEXINGTON, Ky. –
No. 21 Kentucky 4, No. 27 South Carolina 2
Lexington, Ky. — No. 27 South Carolina (12-6, 2-4 SEC) battled back with back-to-back singles victories, but eventually fell 4-2 on the road to No. 21 Kentucky on Sunday afternoon at the Boone Tennis Center.
The Gamecocks dropped the doubles point but evened the overall match score at 2-2 with singles wins from Yancy Dennis and Thomas Mayronne before the Wildcats closed out the team win with victories in the Nos. 6 and No. 4 spots.
DOUBLES
The Wildcats quickly grabbed the advantage in doubles play with a 6-0 win at the No. 2 position and later clinched the team point as Cesar Bourgois and Gus Benson won a tight 6-4 contest in the No. 1 matchup.
DOUBLES (2,1*)
1. Cesar Bourgois/ Gus Benson (UK) def. No. 34 Gabriel Friedrich/ Yancy Dennis (SC) 6-4*
2. Enzo Wallart/Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) def. Paul Jubb/Thomas Mayronne (SC) 6-0
3. Harrison O’Keefe/ Wood Benton (SC) vs. Enzo Wallart/ Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) 4-4, unfinished
SINGLES
Kentucky clinched the initial singles victory of the match before South Carolina responded with back-to-back wins from Dennis at No. 3 and Mayronne at No. 5, evening the match at 2-2.
The 6-1, 7-5 win for Dennis snapped improved his overall record to 20-10 on the season. Mayronne won his No. 5 matchup, 6-2, 6-2 to improve to 20-8 overall on the season.
Harrison O’Keefe battled back from an opening-set loss to win the second 6-2, but fell 2-6 in the third set, which proved to be the decisive point in the match.
SINGLES (1,3,5,6,4*)
1. No. 49 Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) def. No. 29 Gabriel Friedrich (SC) 6-2, 6-2
2. Will Bushamuka (UK) vs. Paul Jubb (SC) 6-4, 2-6, 4-1, unfinished
3. Yancy Dennis (SC) def. Enzo Wallart (UK) 6-1, 7-5
4. Trey Yates (UK) def. Harrison O’Keefe (SC) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2*
5. Thomas Mayronne (SC) def. Kento Yamada (UK) 6-2, 6-2
6. Austin Hussey (UK) def. Wood Benton (SC) 7-5, 6-4
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- No. 27 South Carolina has now faced four ranked opponents in its last five matches.
- Yancy Dennis snapped a four-match losing skid on Sunday and is now 8-5 on the season from the Gamecocks’ No. 3 singles position. Dennis improves his overall record to 20-10 on the season with Sunday’s win.
- Thomas Mayronne is now 3-1 in the Gamecocks’ No. 5 singles position and improved to 20-8 overall on the season after Sunday’s victory.
- Paul Jubb had his singles matchup suspended at Kentucky and sits at 16-7 overall following this weekend’s action.
UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
The Gamecocks will begin a three-match home stand next weekend as they host Arkansas on Fri., Mar. 23, at 5:30 p.m., followed by a home match against Ole Miss on Sun., Mar. 25, at 1 p.m.
For updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
