Gamecocks Drop Tough 4-2 Decision on the Road
LEXINGTON, KY. – No. 10 South Carolina men’s tennis lost a tough 4-2 battle at No. 22 Kentucky on Friday night. After securing the doubles point, the Gamecocks could not hold off the Wildcats in singles, but No. 70 Toby Samuel brought in the second point for South Carolina before play wrapped up.
The Gamecocks settled in quickly in doubles play, with wins in the Nos. 1 and 2 spots. The duo of Toby Samuel and Jake Beasley defeated Millen Hurrion and Liam Draxl of Kentucky 6-4. No. 36 Daniel Rodrigues and Connor Thomson were not far behind with a 6-4 win that secured the doubles point for South Carolina.
In singles, South Carolina faced tough matches in the top three spots of the lineup. Kentucky came out on top in each spot, with straight-set wins in the Nos. 2 and 3 spots. No. 1 Rodrigues created an early lead in the first set, but could not hold off No. 7 Liam Draxl in the tiebreak. In the second set, Rodrigues could not combat an early deficit, and Draxl secured the third point for Kentucky.
In the No. 4 spot, No. 70 Samuel played a close match against Cesar Bourgois of Kentucky. The two went to a tiebreak in the first set, in which Samuel came out on top 7-6 (_). Bourgois fought back to take the second set 7-5, but Samuel was unphased. He efficiently won the third set 6-2, cutting the Gamecocks’ deficit to 2-3.
The Nos. 5 and 6 contests took the court as early matches wrapped up. Kentucky’s Joshua Lapadat, ranked No. 97, closed out the Wildcat victory with a straight-set win over Beasley in the No. 5 match.
The Gamecocks will continue play on the road when they face Vanderbilt on Sun., April 4, at 1 p.m. in Nashville.
For all the latest South Carolina men’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
(22) Kentucky def. (10) South Carolina 4-2
Doubles (Order of Finish: 2, 1*)
1. (36) Daniel Rodrigues / Connor Thomson (SC) def. Cesar Bourgois / Gabriel Diallo (UK) 6-4
2. Toby Samuel / Jake Beasley (SC) def. Millen Hurrion / Liam Draxl (UK) 6-4
3. (80) Raphael Lambling / Phillip Jordan (SC) vs. Alexandre Leblanc / Ying-Ze Chen (UK) 4-5
Singles (Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1, 4, 5*)
1. (7) Liam Draxl (UK) def. (1) Daniel Rodrigues (SC) 7-6 (8), 6-4
2. (31) Gabriel Diallo (UK) def. (40) Connor Thomson (SC) 6-1, 6-3
3. (60) Millen Hurrion (UK) def. (68) Raphael Lambling (SC) 6-3, 6-2
4. (70) Toby Samuel (SC) def. Cesar Bourgois (UK) 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-2
5. (97) Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. Jake Beasley (SC) 6-4, 6-3
6. Phillip Jordan (SC) vs. Yasha Zemel (UK) 6-3, 2-2 DNF
