Gamecocks Wrap Weekend With Win Over Ole Miss
March 25, 2018
No. 33 South Carolina 5, No. 36 Ole Miss 2
COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 33 South Carolina men’s tennis (14-6, 4-4 SEC) completed a weekend sweep on Sunday with a 5-2 win over No. 36 Ole Miss at the Carolina Tennis Center.
The Gamecocks lost the doubles point, but won five of six singles matches to earn their second straight victory over a ranked SEC opponent. The weekend sweep was the first for the Gamecocks in SEC play this season.
“It was great. Number one, an SEC sweep is pretty tough to come by,” Head Coach Josh Goffi said. “That’s one of our major goals going into the season, the SEC season. We haven’t had one yet, so accomplishing that today is huge for our team moving forward. A sweep builds confidence moving into a good Florida team next weekend.”
DOUBLES
While they won the doubles point on Friday, the Gamecocks surrendered the doubles point to Ole Miss on Sunday. Yancy Dennis and Harrison O’Keefe fell to Grey Hamilton and Tim Sandkaulen at No. 2. The South Carolina tandem fell into a 1-4 hole to open the match and was unable to recover.
The team bounced back with Gabriel Friedrich‘s and Thomas Mayronne‘s 6-4 win at No. 1 over No. 20 Zvonimir Babic and Filip Kraljevic. The match was an even battle, tied at 4-4, before Mayronne and Friedrich won two straight games to seal the win.
The doubles point came down to No. 3 in the match between Wood Benton and Paul Jubb and Ole Miss’ Cotter Wilson and Finn Reynolds. The score was tied at 5 all, but Wilson and Reynolds won two straight to secure the doubles point for the Rebels.
DOUBLES
1. Gabriel Friedrich / Thomas Mayronne (SC) def. #20 Zvonimir Babic/Filip Kraljevic (OM) 6-4
2. Grey Hamilton/Tim Sandkaulen (OM) def. Harrison O’Keefe / Yancy Dennis (SC) 6-2
3. Cotter Wilson/Finn Reynolds (OM) def. Paul Jubb / Wood Benton (SC) 7-5
ORDER OF FINISH
2, 1, 3
SINGLES
Wood Benton won his second straight match of the weekend, as Finn Reynolds retired on Court 3. The junior Benton earned a perfect 6-0 first set victory and won three games in the second set before the match was retired.
Yancy Dennis won his third straight match to give South Carolina a 2-1 lead. Dennis cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Zvonimir Babic at No. 3 singles.
Similar to Dennis, Paul Jubb won his third straight match shortly after Dennis wrapped his, rolling to a 6-1, 6-3 victory on Court 2. Jubb, Benton and Dennis went 2-0 in singles on the weekend. Jubb improved to 18-7 overall and 13-2 in 2018 dual match play with the win.
“Jubb just goes to work. He’s been going to work,” Goffi said. “He provides such a fast tempo, meaning that he just plays up on the line real fast and it stretches guy across the net and it causes them to over play. He just brings what he brings to the table every single week.”
While he won his singles match Friday, Harrison O’Keefe was defeated in straight sets by Filip Kraljevic at No. 4 singles. The loss snapped O’Keefe’s three-match winning streak and dropped the South Carolina senior to 9-7 overall on the year.
With the Gamecocks leading 3-2, Thomas Mayronne clinched the match for South Carolina with a comeback victory at No. 5 singles. Mayronne won the first set, 6-3, but dropped the second by two games. The match came down to the third set, in which Mayronne won six straight games to take it.
Gabriel Friedrich extended the Gamecocks’ lead to 5-2 with his win at No. 1 singles. Friedrich entered Sunday’s match with a four-match losing streak and snapped it against No. 41 Tim Sandkaulen of Ole Miss. Friedrich lost a tough first set by three games and came back in the second set to win, 6-3. The third set entered a 6-6 tiebreaker, which Friedrich won, 7-4, for the match victory. The win marked the South Carolina senior’s first win since March 9.
“Huge win for Gabriel Friedrich today,” Goffi said. “That’s a massive win. He’s been on the wrong side of a couple tough matches. That was a massive win for him. Getting him through at the end there was awesome.”
SINGLES
1. #46 Gabriel Friedrich (SC) def. #41 Tim Sandkaulen (OM) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
2. Paul Jubb (SC) def. Grey Hamilton (OM) 6-1, 6-4
3. Yancy Dennis (SC) def. Zvonimir Babic (OM) 6-2, 6-2
4. Filip Kraljevic (OM) def. Harrison O’Keefe (SC) 6-3, 6-2
5. Thomas Mayronne (SC) def. Cotter Wilson (OM) 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
6. Wood Benton (SC) def. Finn Reynolds (OM) 6-0, 3-0 (retired)
ORDER OF FINISH
6, 3, 2, 4, 5, 1
QUOTABLE
“Overall, the level of play. It was good. It wasn’t great. The level of fight and the level of commitment to what we were doing was awesome and that’s why we got through these matches.” — Head Coach Josh GoffiUP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
No. 33 South Carolina continues SEC play with a home match against Florida at 1 p.m. Sunday. Free ice cream and souvenir cups will be available to fans at the match.
For updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
