Gamecocks Fall in NCAA Tournament Round of 32
May 13, 2018
No. 1 Wake Forest 4, No. 29 South Carolina 1
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — No. 29 South Carolina men’s tennis (19-9) fell 4-1 to top-ranked Wake Forest in the NCAA Tournament round of 32 on Sunday afternoon at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.
The Gamecocks finish the 2018 season with their second highest win total (19) under Head Coach Josh Goffi.
South Carolina will have two singles players and one doubles pair participating in this year’s individual championships on May 23-28 at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.
QUOTABLE
On the toughness the team showed throughout the entire match
“That’s what this team is built on. We knew in order to take down a team as talented as Wake Forest we’d have to come out, but it took our guys a little while to settle in and that’s the reason we couldn’t make that turn today.”
On the team gaining momentum towards the end of the match
“It was a hundred percent moving our direction. The problem was, we were about 15 minutes from where we needed to be as far as keeping those guys out there with their backs against the wall.”
DOUBLES
South Carolina dropped just its second doubles point over its last eight matches as Wake Forest’s three ranked pairs helped give the Demon Deacons a 1-0 lead to start the match.
No. 35 Bar Botzer and Petros Chrysochos of Wake Forest won 6-1 on court two which was followed by a 6-4 win for No. 21 Borna Gojo and Skander Mansouri to clinch the point for the Deacons.
DOUBLES (2,1*)
1. #21 Borna Gojo/Skander Mansouri (WF) def. Harrison O’Keefe/Yancy Dennis (SC) 6-4*
2. #35 Bar Botzer/Petros Chrysochos (WF) def. #58 Thomas Mayronne/Gabriel Friedrich (SC) 6-1
3. #46 Ian Dempster/Christian Seraphim (WF) vs. Wood Benton/Paul Jubb (SC) 5-4, unfinished
SINGLES
After Wake Forest went ahead 2-0 with a win on court two, Wood Benton finished his college career with a 6-3, 6-2 win on court six, bringing the Gamecocks back within a point.
Wake Forest picked up another point on court three but the Gamecocks extended the match by forcing second set breakers on courts one and four, but seventh-ranked Borna Goja clinched the victory for Wake Forest with a 6-4, 7-6 (2) win.
SINGLES (2,6,3,1*)
1. (7) Borna Gojo (WF) def. (59) Paul Jubb (SC) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)*
2. (4) Petros Chrysochos (WF) def. (40) Gabriel Friedrich (SC) 6-2, 6-0
3. #38 Skander Mansouri (WF) def. Thomas Mayronne (SC) 6-3, 7-5
4. Bar Botzer (WF) vs. Yancy Dennis (SC) 6-2, 6-6 (8-8), unfinished
5. Christian Seraphim (WF) vs. Harrison O’Keefe (SC) 7-6 (7-5), 5-3, unfinished
6. Wood Benton (SC) def. Rrezart Cungu (WF) 6-3, 6-2
UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
South Carolina will have two singles players competing in the NCAA Singles Championships: No. 40 Gabriel Friedrich and No. 59 Paul Jubb. The Gamecocks will also have one doubles pair, No. 31 Friedrich and Yancy Dennis, competing in this year’s NCAA Doubles Championships. The 2018 men’s and women’s tennis individual championships will be hosted in Winston-Salem, N.C. at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex on May 23-28.
For updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
