Gamecocks' Tournament Run Ends with Semifinal Loss to 6th-ranked MSU
GAINESVILLE, Fla.– South Carolina men’s tennis (17-9) had its SEC Tournament run come to an end after suffering a 4-2 loss to sixth-ranked Mississippi State (21-3) on Saturday afternoon at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
Carolina came out swinging to begin the match, winning its third-straight doubles point with wins on court one and court three, respectively.
For the second time this spring, South Carolina and Mississippi State faced tightly contested singles matches across the board as four of the six matches saw a third set.
Mississippi State went up 3-1 after wins on courts five, four, and one, respectively, before Carolina stole the momentum back with Daniel Rodrigues’s three-set win on court two. The Gamecocks later ran out of match, however, as Mississippi State clinched the team win with a third set win on court three.
DOUBLES
With a spot in Sunday’s championship match on the line, both teams came out locked in to begin the match as the two teams held serve early before eventually splitting the doubles matches on courts one and two.
Raphael Lambling and Daniel Rodrigues won their second-straight match, taking out third-ranked Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic, 6-3 for the first doubles win of the day.
Mississippi State took the No. 2 doubles match, 6-4 to put all the attention on the No. 3 matchup. The No. 3 pairs held serve all the way to a tiebreaker where an ace off the racquet of Beau Pelletier finished off Mississippi State’s Gregor Ramskogler and Trevor Foshey.
Doubles Results:
1. Daniel Rodrigues/Raphael Lambling (SC) def. No. 3 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-3
2. No. 20 Giovanni Oradini/Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Paul Jubb/Yancy Dennis (SC) 6-4
3. Beau Pelletier/Jake Beasley (SC) def. Gregor Ramskogler/Trevor Foshey (MSU) 7-6 (5)
Order of finish: 1,2,3
SINGLES
Carolina took four of six opening sets during the singles session, but later fell behind 3-1 in the match after the Bulldogs captured straight-set wins on courts five and four, respectively.
Yancy Dennis kept South Carolina alive by fending off two match points while trailing 5-3 in his third set, and later holding serve to even the match on court six at 5-5.
With Carolina holding all momentum, Rodrigues recovered from a second set letdown to finish off Mississippi State’s No. 61 Giovanni Oradini with 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 win on court two.
Dennis was forced into a third-set tiebreak with Carolina back in the match at 3-2 when Mississippi State’s Strahinja Rakic won four straight games to close out court three with a 6-3 third set win.
Singles Results:
1. No. 3 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. No. 6 Paul Jubb (SC) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
2. No. 119 Daniel Rodrigues (SC) def. No. 61 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-1, 4-6, 7-5
3. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Raphael Lambling (SC) 7-5, 1-6, 6-3
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Beau Pelletier (SC) 7-5, 6-1
5. Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Thomas Brown (SC) 6-4, 6-2
6. Florian Broska (MSU) vs. Yancy Dennis (SC) 3-6, 6-2, 6-6, unfinished
Order of finish: 5,4,1,2.3
UP NEXT
No. 22 South Carolina now will await the announcement of the 2019 NCAA Tournament Selection Show, which will air on Monday, April 29, at 6 p.m. ET.
For men’s tennis updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
