No. 20 Men's Tennis Opens SEC Play at Home

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 20 South Carolina men’s tennis (4-2) is set to start SEC play at the Carolina Tennis Center this weekend. The Gamecocks will first take on Auburn on Fri., Feb. 19, at 3 p.m., followed by a match against No. 23 Alabama on Sun., Feb. 21, at noon.
 
 
Gamecock Notables

• The Gamecocks come into the weekend 4-2 after winning their first two and last two matches this spring and moving back up to No. 20 in the Oracle ITA Rankings.
• Doubles pair Toby Samuel and Jake Beasley continue to lead the Gamecocks with a 12-5 record, playing mostly in the No. 3 position but winning both times they played in the No. 2 spot. The Gamecocks’ top two doubles teams – both nationally ranked – have 10 wins each.
• No. 32 Daniel Rodrigues and true freshman Toby Samuel both have 11 singles wins on the season, leading the way for the Gamecocks. Beasley is not far behind with 10 wins.
• Samuel is on a three match winning streak in singles, and earned SEC Co-Freshman of the Week after commanding a pair of wins in the No. 4 spot in the team’s last two matches.
• Last season, the Gamecocks were 2-2 in SEC matches before the season was cancelled in early March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Individually Raphael Lambling and Connor Thomsom were the top winners in SEC action with 3-1 league records playing mostly in the No. 3 and 4 position, respectively.

 
The Auburn Series

• The Gamecocks are on a six-match winning streak against the Tigers, earning three of those wins at home. The teams last met on Feb. 28, 2020, when the Gamecocks won 5-2.
• Under head coach Josh Goffi, South Carolina is 8-5 against Auburn
• South Carolina has won the past four meetings at the Carolina Tennis Center between the two SEC foes dating back to a 4-1 win on Mar. 23, 2014.

 
Scouting the Tigers

• Auburn is currently 3-4, with a 1-0 record on the road with a win against Florida State.
• The Tigers have won the doubles point in six of their seven matches, only dropping it to Georgia Tech.
• Auburn will face its first SEC and first ranked opponent of the season in No. 20 South Carolina.
• With 11 players on the roster, the Tigers have nine returners and two freshmen. Of the two freshmen, only Maxwell Giddens has been in the rotation so far this spring.

 
The Alabama Series

• The all-time series has Alabama with a slight lead at 25-20, but South Carolina is 6-5 against the Crimson Tide under head coach Josh Goffi.
• The teams last faced each other on Mar. 1, 2020, at the Carolina Tennis Center with the Crimson Tide claiming a 4-3 victory.

 
Scouting the Crimson Tide

• Alabama is 8-2, with their two losses coming against then-No. 8 NC State and then-No.17 Ole Miss.
• Of its wins, three were shutouts – two against North Alabama and one against Tennessee Tech.
• The Crimson Tide are ranked at No. 23 for the second week in a row, climbing up from the No. 25 spot on Feb. 3.
• Alabama boasts 12 returners, five of which are in their fifth year.

 
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. 23 Alabama
Singles
No. 89 Edson Ortiz
 
For men’s tennis updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).