No. 20 Gamecocks Win SEC Opener Against Auburn 5-2
COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 20 South Carolina men’s tennis opened its SEC slate with a 5-2 win over Auburn Friday afternoon at the Carolina Tennis Center. In their first home match of the season, the Gamecocks made quick work of the doubles point and won three straight singles matches to lock in the win. Freshman Toby Samuel secured the win for the Gamecocks in his SEC debut.
“Opening SEC with a 1-0 start is huge for us. Young squad showed their grit tonight up and down. We had a couple of amazing matches; doubles was great,” said head coach Josh Goffi after the match. “[We] had a couple of amazing comebacks, down a set here, down a set over there, but turned the match around, extended to third sets. That’s something that we’re trying to focus on this year, having that resilience factor. And, the boys did it tonight. And the guys that stayed in the lead, they shut the door quickly.”
South Carolina doubles team Toby Samuel and Jake Beasley blanked Auburn’s Jan Galka and Tyler Stice in the third spot in the lineup. Not long after, No. 44 Daniel Rodrigues and Connor Thomson won their match against Auburn’s Tad Maclean and Finn Murgett 6-2 at the top of the lineup, securing the doubles point.
In singles, Beasley got to work fast on the fifth court, winning 6-3, 6-1 against Auburn’s Maxwell Giddens. Shortly after, Rodrigues won in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, bringing in the third point for the Gamecocks.
Samuel did not disappoint in his SEC debut, extending his singles win streak to four. The freshman came back after a 3-6 first-set loss to win the second 6-3. He fought hard in the third, showing his Gamecock GRIT by turning a 3-4 deficit into a 6-4 victory punctuated by a crosscourt backhand that forced Auburn’s Jan Galka to dump his reply into the net and seal the team win for the Gamecocks.
The last three matches on court featured a combined five tiebreaks with two decided by additional super-tiebreaks. Carolina freshman Phillip Jordan secured the lone win of the trio as he delivered a 1-0 (12) super-tiebreak win over Tad Maclean after the two split the first two sets via tiebreak.
The Gamecocks continue SEC action at Carolina Tennis Center on Sun., Feb. 21, when they face No. 23 Alabama.
For all the latest South Carolina men’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
(20) South Carolina def. Auburn 5-2
Doubles (Order of Finish: 3, 2*)
1. (44) Daniel Rodrigues / Connor Thomson (SC) def. Tad Maclean / Finn Murgett (AU) 6-2
2. (59) Raphael Lambling / Phillip Jordan (SC) vs. Tom Wright / Maxwell Giddens (AU) 5-2 DNF
3. Toby Samuel / Jake Beasley (SC) def. Jan Galka / Tyler Stice (AU) 6-0
Singles (Order of Finish: 5, 1, 3*, 6, 4, 2)
1. (32) Daniel Rodrigues (SC) def.. Tim Dollman (AU) 6-3, 6-4
2. Tyler Stice (AU) def. (81) Raphael Lambling (SC) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5)
3. Toby Samuel (SC) def.. Jan Galka (AU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. Phillip Jordan (SC) def.. Tad Maclean (AU) 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 1-0 (12)
5. Jake Beasley (SC) def.. Maxwell Giddens (AU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Spencer Gray (AU) def. Beau Pelletier (SC) 7-6 (7), 6-7 (6), 1-0 (7)
