Gamecocks Continue Non-Conference Play at Wake Forest

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 20 South Carolina men’s tennis (2-1) heads to Winston-Salem, N.C., to take on their third-straight ranked opponent in No. 16 Wake Forest (1-1), on Sun., Jan. 31, at 1 p.m. Both teams come into the match after participating in ITA Kickoff Weekend events. It will be the 46th meeting between the Gamecocks and the Demon Deacons.
 

Gamecock Notables

• The Gamecocks went 2-1 in their opening weekend of dual-match play, winning the doubles point in both victories.
• South Carolina opened ITA Kickoff Weekend with a 4-1 win over No. 23 Duke in Chapel Hill, N.C., before falling to the host and No. 2-ranked Tar Heels.
• No. 32 Daniel Rodrigues is tied for the team lead with a 9-2 singles record, including a 2-0 mark against ranked opponents. He led both of his matches on ITA Kickoff Weekend, but neither was completed.
• Sophomore Jake Beasley is tied with Rodrigues with a 9-2 mark this season and has won his last four matches, including three in the No. 6 spot in the lineup last weekend.
• Beasley teams with first-year freshman Toby Samuel in doubles and the pair, which plays in the No. 3 spot in the order, leads the team with a 10-5 record.
• In their match against Duke, No. 59 Raphael Lambling / Phillip Jordan took down No. 46 Luca Keist / Michael Heller to secure the doubles point for the Gamecocks. The duo is 9-3 on the season.

 
The Wake Forest Series

• The Gamecocks are 28-17 all time against Wake Forest.
• The teams last met in Winston-Salem, N.C., on May 13, 2018, in the NCAA Regionals.
• This will be the seventh time South Carolina and Wake Forest will meet under head coach Josh Goffi with the Demon Deacons winning the last six of those meetings.

 
Scouting the Demon Deacons

• Wake Forest enters the match 1-1 after losing to Oklahoma and beating Denver in the consolation match on ITA Kickoff Weekend.
• The Demon Deacons dropped the doubles point in both of their dual matches last weekend.
• Wake Forest has not played a ranked team this spring.
• Four Demon Deacons opened the spring with singles rankings, led by No. 31 Bar Botzer, and they boast the No. 18 doubles team in the country in Henri Squire and Eduardo Nava.

 
Rankings Roundup
No. 20 South Carolina
Singles
No. 32 Daniel Rodrigues
No. 81 Raphael Lambling
No. 118 Connor Thomson
 
Doubles
No. 44 Daniel Rodrigues / Connor Thomson
No. 59 Raphael Lambling / Phillip Jordan
 
No. 16 Wake Forest
Singles
No. 31 Bar Botzer
No. 92 Rrezart Cungu
No. 107 Taha Baadi
No. 121 Luciano Tacchi
 
Doubles
No. 18 Henri Squire / Eduardo Nava
 
For men’s tennis updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).