Carolina Drops Tough 4-3 Match

COLUMBIA, S.C.— No. 23 South Carolina men’s tennis dropped a hard-fought 4-3 decision Sunday afternoon to No. 27 Alabama. The Gamecocks rally to tied the match at 3-3 before the Crimson Tide closed out the final three-set victory.

In doubles, Paul Jubb and Raphael Lambling continued their strong play, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead. The duo put away No. 1 Alabama team 6-2. After the Crimson Tide knotted doubles at one a piece by taking the No. 2 spot, Daniel Rodrigues and Jake Beasley showed major resiliency at the No. 3 spot. After being down 2-0, the sophomores fought back to 5-4 and had a deuce point, but the Alabama pairing closed it out.
 
In singles, the Gamecocks responded with intensity. Jubb overpowered Alabama on Court 1, winning swiftly 6-0, 6-1, to improve to 5-2 on the season. Lambling persevered through a tight first set, eventually winning it 6-4. In the second set, the Paris native dominated from the back line, winning 6-1 on an unforced error to tie the team scoring at 2-2.
 
After a long match on court six that went to a tiebreak put the Gamecocks go down 3-2, Rodrigues entered a tiebreak of his own in the No.2 match. Down 4-3, Rodrigues scratched and clawed his way back into the breaker at 7-7. After exchanging points, the Carolina sophomore continued applying pressure, picking up the tiebreak win and the point 7-6 (7) for a 3-3 team score.
 
With the final match still on court thanks to Phillip Jordan’s tiebreak win in the second forcing a decisive third set, Alabama’s Alexey Nesterov closed out the third set 6-2 to deliver the win for the Crimson Tide.
 
 
Gamecock Notables

• Paul Jubb and Raphael Lambling improve to 2-0 in SEC play in both singles and doubles.
• The top half of the Gamecocks’ singles lineup was dominant, winning all three matches in straight sets, including two over ranked opponents.

 
Doubles
Order of Finish (1,2,3*)

1. Paul Jubb/Raphael Lambling (SC) def. Patrik Kaukovalta/Alexey Nesterov (BAMA) 6-2
2. Edson Ortiz /Marcelo Sepulveda Garza (BAMA) def.  Connor Thomson/Phillip Jordan (SC) 6-2
3. Riccardo Roberto / Zhe Zhou (BAMA) def. Jake Beasley/Daniel Rodrigues. (SC) 6-4

Singles
Order of Finish (1,3,4,6,2,5*)

1. (48) Paul Jubb (SC) def. (80) Edson Ortiz (BAMA) 6-0, 6-1
2. (36) Daniel Rodrigues (SC) def. Zhe Zhou (BAMA) 6-3, 7-6(7)
3. (38) Raphael Lambling (SC) def. (125) Riccardo Roberto (BAMA) 6-4, 6-1
4. Patrik Kaukovalta (BAMA) def. (115) Connor Thomson (SC) 6-4, 6-2
5. Alexey Nesterov (BAMA) def. Phillip Jordan (SC) 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-2
6. Jeremy Gschwendtner (BAMA) def. Beau Pelletier (SC) 6-3, 7-6(3)

 
 
QUOATABLE HEAD COACH JOSH GOFFI
“I’m proud of the way our guys fought today but Credit to Alabama, they put a solid doubles point out there and we had a few guys that had a slow start which cost us that point. In singles, Alabama did a better job of taking care of the little balls in the most important moments.”

Up Next for the Gamecocks
Carolina will hit the road next week, taking on Texas A&M Friday at noon.

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