Gamecocks Sweep Season-Opening Doubleheader

COLUMBIA, S.C.- No. 25 South Carolina men’s tennis kicked off its 2019 spring campaign with a pair of 7-0 sweeps over The Citadel in Friday’s doubleheader with the Bulldogs at the Carolina Tennis Center.

South Carolina saw the beginning of a new era in many ways on Friday as six freshmen dominated in the first match of singles matches including a 6-0. 6-0 win from Daniel Rodrigues out of the No. 1 spot.  The 2-0 start to the regular season for South Carolina saw the Gamecocks return to action after nearly a two-month break from collegiate competition. “They came back in pretty good shape, playing pretty good ball,” said head coach Josh Goffi. “But you never know what’s really going to come out of that first match.” 

The Gamecocks dropped just a single game across the first three doubles matches and followed up with three more wins from three new pairings in the second round of doubles. 

Quotable- Head Coach Josh Goffi:
“They looked good- the objective today was to take care of our half of the court- to take care of our non-negotiables, our controllables, things we hold sacred for our team and they did a good job at it. The emotions were in check, their identities were in check and their playing patterns were all in check. All the things we were trying to establish for the rest of the year, they did a pretty good job at it.”

Match 1 Recap- South Carolina 7, The Citadel 0
The Gamecocks came out on fire in doubles to start the year winning 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 on the three courts, respectively. Jake Beasley and Joe Brailovsky won their second-consecutive match playing together while Thomas Brown and Patrick Cacciatore improved to 2-2 on the year as a pair.

South Carolina built on the doubles momentum with six quick matches in singles play.  Daniel Rodrigues went 6-0, 6-0 as all six Gamecocks in first match’s lineup (all freshman) picked up their first career dual-match wins.

Doubles
1. Jake Beasley/Joseph Brailovsky (SC) def. Noah Nawabi/Willem van Zyl (Citadel), 6-0
2. Yancy Dennis/Daniel Rodrigues (SC) def. Will Graham/Roy Hobson (Citadel), 6-1
3. Thomas Brown/Patrick Cacciatore (SC) def. Phillip Quinn/Gavin Stewart (Citadel), 6-0
Singles
1. Daniel Rodrigues (SC) def. Roy Hobson (Citadel), 6-0, 6-0
2. Raphael Lambling (SC) def. Jack Pyritz (Citadel), 6-0, 6-2
3. Jake Beasley (SC) def. Noah Nawabi (Citadel), 6-1, 6-2
4. #74 Joseph Brailovsky (SC) def. Phillip Quinn (Citadel), 6-2, 6-0
5. Beau Pelletier (SC) def. Will Graham (Citadel), 6-2, 6-1
6. Patrick Cacciatore (SC) def. Luke Eafano (Citadel), 6-0, 6-2

Match 2 Recap
The Bulldogs put up more of fight during the second session of doubles but the Gamecocks again made quick work to lock up all three courts, winning 6-2, 6-1 and 6-2, respectively.

After sitting out the first set of singles matches, Yancy Dennis stepped into the No. 1 spot and cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win.  Thomas Brown also brought fresh legs into the second set of singles matches and was the first to lock up his decision, winning 6-0. 6-1.

Doubles
1. Yancy Dennis/Raphael Lambling (SC) def. Noah Nawabi/Willem Van Zyl (CIT) 6-2
2. Patrick Cacciatore/Daniel Rodrigues (SC) def. Roy Hobson/Will Graham (CIT) 6-1
3. Beau Pelletier/Thomas Brown (SC) def. Phillip Quinn/Gavin Stewart (CIT) 6-2
Singles
1. Yancy Dennis (SC) def. Roy Hobson (CIT) 6-2, 6-1
2. Raphael Lambling (SC) def. Noah Nawabi (CIT) 7-6 (7-5), 6-0
3. #74 Joseph Brailovsky (SC) def. Jack Pyritz (CIT) 6-2, 6-3
4. Beau Pelletier (SC) def. Willem van Zyl (CIT) 6-2
5. Jake Beasley (SC) def. Phillip Quinn (CIT) 6-2, 6-1
6. Thomas Brown (SC) def. Will Graham (CIT) 6-0, 6-1

Up Next
South Carolina will look ahead to another home match on Sunday against Presbyterian starting at 10 a.m. ET, before departing for Melbourne, Australia where they will face Southern Cal from the 2019 Australian Open.