No. 21 South Carolina Wins Sixth Straight Palmetto Series Match 5-2
CLEMSON, S.C. – No. 21 South Carolina men’s tennis picked up its third dual-match win with a 5-2 victory at Clemson Friday evening, giving the Gamecocks another point in the Palmetto Series competition. After dropping the doubles point, the Gamecocks wasted no time in getting after their singles matches to bring home their sixth-straight win over Clemson.
In the No. 5 spot, sophomore Jake Beasley brought in the first point for the Gamecocks with a commanding 6-1, 6-2 straight-set victory. Not far behind was freshman Toby Samuel from the No. 4 spot in the lineup. The true freshman came back from an early deficit in his first set to win 6-3. He won the second set 6-3 as well, bringing in the second point for the Gamecocks in his Palmetto Series rivalry debut.
At the top of the lineup, No. 32 Daniel Rodrigues had a strong 6-1 win in his first set. The sophomore took an early lead in his second set, but Clemson’s Yizhou Liu fought back. The set went to a tiebreak where Rodrigues showed his grit, winning 7-6 (1) and awarding the third point for South Carolina.
The Tigers closed the match to 3-2 with a win in the No. 3 spot, but South Carolina native Beau Pelletier delivered the team victory with a second-set tiebreak in the No. 6 match. The sophomore won his first set 6-2 and was up 5-3 in the second when Clemson’s Spencer Whitaker rallied to force a tiebreak. Pelletier regained control of the match and powered home an ace on match point for the 7-6 (4) victory.
Moments later, No. 118 Connor Thomson wrapped up play in the No. 2 spot. He bounced back from a slow start to win his first set 7-6 (1). In the second, he settled in quickly, winning 6-3.
The Gamecocks are back in action on Sun., Feb. 7, when they take on Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga.
For all the latest South Carolina men’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
Quotable – Head Coach Josh Goffi
“I’m really proud of how resilient our guys were today. Losing the doubles point in an unfavorable environment and responding the way we did in singles was very impressive. And, I’m very proud of Beau [Pelletier] stepping in and clinching the match for the Gamecocks!”
(21) South Carolina def. Clemson 5-2
Doubles (Order of Finish: 2, 1*)
1. Jacob Jahn / Ryuhei Azuma (CLEM) def. (44) Daniel Rodrigues / Connor Thomson (SC) 6-4
2. Teodor Giusca / Spencer Whitaker (CLEM) def. (59) Raphael Lambling / Phillip Jordan (SC) 6-3
3. Toby Samuel / Jake Beasley (SC) vs. Yizhou Liu / Carlos Kelaidis (CLEM) 5-5 DNF
Singles (Order of Finish: 5, 4, 1, 3, 6*, 2)
1. (32) Daniel Rodrigues (SC) def. Yizhou Liu (CLEM) 6-1, 7-6 (1)
2. (118) Connor Thomson (SC) def. Teodor Giusca (CLEM) 7-6 (1), 6-3
3.) Ryuhei Azuma (CLEM) def. Phillip Jordan (SC) 7-6 (3), 6-3
4. Toby Samuel (SC) def. Carlos Kelaidis (CLEM) 6-3, 6-3
5. Jake Beasley (SC) def. Jorge Plans Gonzalez (CLEM) 6-1, 6-2
6. Beau Pelletier (SC) def. Spencer Whitaker (CLEM) 6-2, 7-6 (4)
