Men's Tennis to Host Gamecock Fall Invitational
COLUMBIA, S.C.- South Carolina men’s tennis will kick off its 2018 fall tournament schedule this weekend as it prepares to host the Gamecock Fall Invitational across three locations this Friday through Saturday. Matches will begin on Friday morning at various locations and conclude on Sunday afternoon with championship matches at the Carolina Tennis Center.
The three-day event will take place across three locations in the Columbia area; the Gamecock Tennis Center (a.k.a. Carolina Tennis Center), Columbia Tennis Center and the Cayce Tennis Center.
The tournament field will be divided into three singles draws (consisting of 32 individuals each) and three doubles draws (consisting of 16 doubles teams). First round matches will begin on Friday morning at 8 a.m., beginning with doubles matches (A, B and C flights). First round singles matches will follow the initial round of doubles on each match court.
The Gamecock Fall Invitational tournament field will consist of 97 total players from 19 schools across the country including two players — Adam Walton of Tennessee and David Gonzalez of East Tennessee State — who were ranked in the Oracle/ITA preseason singles rankings while another pair — Brian Cernoch of North Carolina and Francisco Bastias of Miami — appeared in this season’s preseason freshman/newcomers top 10.
Entry is free and open to the public with free parking also available at all three tournament locations.
Gamecocks to Watch For:
Yancy Dennis- Sr., Reisterstown, Md.
- 2017-18 Record
- (S) 26-12 (5-7 SEC)
- (D) 21-14 (5-5 SEC)
- Reached a career-high No. 63 singles ranking last season and reached as high as No. 28 in doubles rankings alongside doubles partner, Gabriel Friedrich.
- Appeared in the NCAA Doubles Championship for a second-consecutive season, advancing to the round of 16 with Friedrich.
- Third in program history in doubles dual match winning percentage (.635)
- Tied for 20th in school history in doubles winning percentage (.611)
Thomas Brown- So., Sumter, S.C.
- Won three ITA Summer Circuit Events while finishing runner-up in one.
- Finished with 11 wins in an injury-shortened freshman campaign last season.
Freshmen/ Newcomers
- After graduating four seniors a season ago, the Gamecocks welcome the seventh-ranked freshman class of 2018 according to tennisrecruiting.net with a group of five freshman that includes: Daniel Rodrigues (Funchal, Portugal), Raphael Lambling (Paris, France), Joseph Brailovsky (North Potomac, Md.), Patrick Cacciatore (Tampa, Fl.), and Jake Beasley (Atlanta, Ga.).
- Beau Pelletier, a native of Hilton Head, S.C., joins the Gamecocks’ 2018-19 roster after transferring from Clemson in the spring.
Tournament Venues:
- Gamecock Tennis Center– 1318 Heyward St., Columbia, S.C., 29205 — (Directions)
- Cayce Tennis Center– 1120 Fort Congaree Trail, Cayce, S.C., 29033 — (Directions)
- Columbia Tennis Center– 1635 Whaley St., Columbia, S.C., 29205 — (Directions)
For updated tournament info including draws and schedules, visit gamecocksonline.com or follow us on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
