Gamecocks Finish Off Georgia Tech for Sixth-Straight Win

COLUMBIA, S.C.- Patrick Cacciatore finished off a hard fought, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1 win at South Carolina’s No. 6 singles spot to clinch a 4-3 win for the Gamecocks (8-1) over Georgia Tech (5-3) on Saturday at the Carolina Tennis Center.  Carolina has now won six-consecutive matches overall and is 7-0 at home on the season following its 2-0 weekend.

The Gamecocks have won five doubles points over their last six matches after earning wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to begin Saturday’s match.  16th-ranked Paul Jubb made quick work of No. 38 Carlos Divar while the rest of the Carolina lineup faced tight singles matches through the finish. Raphael Lambling had to win a second-set tiebreak while Cacciatore was forced to battle for his first career three-set win to clinch the win for the Gamecocks on court six.

DOUBLES- Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
After dropping its first doubles point in four matches in Friday’s win over Clemson, South Carolina jumped ahead in the match with wins on at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles.  The No. 3 pair of Jake Beasley and Yancy Dennis evened the doubles session with a 6-3 win on court six after the Yellow Jackets’ No. 1 pair captured the first win of doubles.

Carolina’s No. 2 tandem of Paul Jubb and Joseph Brailovsky fell behind early before taking over with three-straight service breaks to win 6-3, locking up the doubles point for the Gamecocks.

Doubles Results:
1. Carlos Divar/Phillip Gresk (GT) def. Raphael Lambling/Daniel Rodrigues (SC) 6-4
2. Paul Jubb/Joseph Brailovsky (SC) def. Andrew Li/Chris Yun (GT) 6-3
3. Yancy Dennis/Jake Beasley (SC) def. Joseph Gandolfo/Cole Gromley (GT) 6-3

SINGLES- Order of Finish: 1,2,4,5,3,6*
16th-ranked Paul Jubb improved to a perfect 4-0 out of the No. 1 spot on the dual match season, winning 6-2, 6-0 to put the Gamecocks ahead 2-0 in the match.  Having dropped a team point on court two, Raphael Lambling fought for 7-5 second-set win to put his match away, putting the Gamecocks ahead 3-1. 

At No. 6 six singles, Cacciatore went up 2-0 on an early break before falling behind 5-2 in the first set.  He then clawed his way back into a first-set tiebreak that the Gamecocks’ freshman from Tampa, Fla., would go on to win 7-4.  Cacciatore responded to a 6-4 loss in the second set by jumping out 5-0 in the third.  After missing out his first match point opportunity, Cacciatore closed the door in the following game to lock up the 6-1 win in the third, clinching the match for South Carolina.

Singles Results
1. #16 Paul Jubb (SC) def. #38 Carlos Divar (GT) 6-2, 6-0
2. Phillip Gresk (GT) def. Yancy Dennis (SC) 6-3, 6-3
3. #81 Andrew Li (GT) def. #110 Daniel Rodrigues (SC) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
4. Raphael Lambling (SC) def. Cole Gromley (GT) 6-4, 7-6 (5)
5. Chris Yun (GT) def. Joseph Brailovsky (SC) 6-3, 7-5
6. Patrick Cacciatore (SC) def. Joseph Gandolfo (GT) 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1

UP NEXT
South Carolina will host its only match next week on Sat., Feb. 23, against Georgia State at the Carolina Tennis Center beginning at 1 p.m.

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