Gamecocks Down No. 40 Ole Miss, 4-3

COLUMBIA, S.C.- South Carolina men’s tennis (11-2, 1-1 SEC) earned its first Southeastern Conference win of the season with a 4-3 win over No. 40 Ole Miss (8-8, 0-4 SEC) on Sunday afternoon at the Carolina Tennis Center.  The Gamecocks will restart their match against 10th-ranked Mississippi State, which was suspended on Friday due to persistent rain in the Columbia area, on Monday at 1 p.m. ET.

The Gamecocks, who have now won nine of 10, have now taken three of the last four over Ole Miss, avenging a 4-1 letdown in last year’s SEC Tournament.  Carolina, which also captured its first conference win of the year in Sunday’s defeat of Ole Miss, improves to a perfect 9-0 this season in home matches.

Raphael Lambling and Paul Jubb captured a second-consecutive ranked doubles win as the No. 1 tandem while Daniel Rodrigues and Beau Pelletier won 6-3 at the No. 3 pairing to give the Gamecocks the doubles point.

12th-ranked Jubb (19-2, 2-0 SEC) won his eighth-straight singles match and No. 88 Rodrigues (24-5, 2-0 SEC) extended his winning streak to four-straight on courts one and two, respectivley.  Lambling (19-6, 1-1 SEC) later clinched the team win, grabbing the Gamecocks’ fourth team point with a straight-set victory on court three.

DOUBLES
South Carolina took its first doubles point in SEC play with strong starts on each of the three courts.  Rodrigues and Pelletier won four-straight points with a break to go up 3-1 and followed up with another break to take a 5-1 lead.  Rodrigues and Pelletier grabbed their first SEC doubles win as a pair with a 6-3 score.

The win at No. 3 doubles was followed up moments later with Jubb and Lambling’s win over No. 75 Filip Krljevic and Tim Sandkaulen.  The Gamecocks’ pair won a deuce point to break for 2-2 and went on to win the next three games to take a 5-2 lead.  Jubb and Lambling went on to close out their second-consecutive ranked doubles win at 6-3. 

Doubles Results:
1. Raphael Lambling/Paul Jubb (SC) def. No. 75 Filip Kraljevic/Tim Sandkaulen (OM) 6-3
2. Jake Beasley/Joseph Brailovsky (SC) vs. Cotter Wilson/Fabian Fallert (OM) 4-4, unfinished
3. Daniel Rodrigues/Beau Pelletier (SC) def. Karlo Kranic/Simon Junk (OM) 6-3
Order of finish: 3,1

SINGLES
No. 12 Jubb, who has still not dropped a set since Jan. 21, jumped ahead of No. 73 Sandkaulen from first serve, winning a deuce point to break for a 4-1 lead.  Jubb, who lost to Sandkaulen in the SEC Tournament last season, aced a game point to go ahead 5-1 and broke the Rebels’ No. 1 player again for 6-2 first set win.

Jubb trailed early in the second but came storming back with three-straight breaks to win the second comfortably at 6-3.  Jubb improves to 37-8 on his career in dual matches and a perfect 8-0 so far this season.

Rodrigues was second off of the singles courts, finishing just behind Jubb with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Filip Kraljevic.  The Portuguese freshman earns a fourth-consecutive singles win in straight sets and improves to 10-2 (2-0 SEC) in dual matches. 

Raphael Lambling had his second match-clinching singles win of the season (he also clinched Carolina’s 4-3 win over Clemson back on Feb. 15), taking out Fabian Fallert 6-3, 6-2.  After squandering two match points on serve with a 5-2 lead, Lambling won deuce point and closed out a 6-2 second set, putting Carolina ahead 4-1.

Singles Results:
1. #12 Paul Jubb (SC) def. #73 Tim Sandkaulen (OM) 6-2, 6-3
2. #88 Daniel Rodrigues (SC) def. Filip Kraljevic (OM) 6-2, 6-1
3. Raphael Lambling (SC) def. Fabian Fallert (OM) 6-3, 6-2
4. Karlo Kranic (OM) vs. Joseph Brailovsky (SC) 7-6 (5), 3-6
5. Simon Junk (OM) def. Beau Pelletier (SC) 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (5)
6. Jan Soren Hain (OM) def. Jake Beasley (SC) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: 1,2,6,3*,5,4

UP NEXT
The Gamecocks will restart their match against 10th-ranked Mississippi State, which was suspended on Friday due to persistent rain in the Columbia area, on Monday at 1 p.m. ET.

South Carolina will be on the road next weekend, taking on No. 25 Tennessee on Friday at 5 p.m. ET followed by Georgia on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET.

For all men’s tennis updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).