Men's Tennis . May 16, 2021

Gamecocks to Face Longhorns in NCAA Round of 16

NCAA TOURNAMENT ROUND OF 16
#13 SOUTH CAROLINA (17-9) VS. #4 TEXAS (22-5)
4 P.M. (ET) | ORLANDO, FLA. | USTA NATIONAL CAMPUS

South Carolina Match Notes | Live Scoring | Watch via Computer | Download TennisONE App to Watch

No. 13 South Carolina will play in the NCAA Championships Round of 16 for the first time since 2005, facing 2019 National Champion Texas, the tournament’s No. 4 seed, on Mon., May 17, at 4 p.m. at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.

Gamecock Notables

South Carolina brings a 17-9 record into the match, including nine wins over ranked opponents with four of those against top-20 foes. The Gamecocks’ highest ranked win of the season was a 4-2 decision over then-No. 9 Georgia in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
Four Gamecocks entered the NCAA Championships ranked in the singles top 100 for the first time since 1998. Daniel Rodrigues leads the group at No. 2, followed by No. 22 Connor Thomson, No. 54 Raphael Lambling and No. 67 Toby Samuel.
First-Team All-SEC selection Daniel Rodrigues has 18 wins at No. 1 singles, the fourth most in program history. Nine of those have been in SEC action, which is the second most in Gamecock history. He is 11-3 against ranked opponents with four wins over top-10 opponents, including Nos. 2 and 3.
Second-Team All-SEC selection Toby Samuel is tied with Rodrigues for the team lead with 26 total singles victories and 18 dual-match singles wins. Those totals include a 14-match win streak earlier this season and a 2-2 record against ranked opponents.
First-Team All-SEC selection Connor Thomson is 18-12 on the season with a team-best five match-clinching wins this season. His 11-8 dual-match record includes a 6-5 mark at his current position at No. 2 in the lineup.
With two ranked doubles teams – No. 13 Rodrigues/Thomson and No. 80 Jordan/Lambling – the Gamecocks have won the doubles point 16 times in 26 matches this season, going 13-3 in those 16 outings.
The Gamecocks are one of seven SEC teams still in the NCAA Championships, which began with 11 SEC entries.
A win over No. 4 Texas would be the highest ranked Gamecock win of the Josh Goffi era and the program’s best since topping then-No. 3 Ole Miss on Apr. 2, 2004.

South Carolina NCAA Tournament Notables

The Gamecocks are playing in their 25th NCAA Championships, including the seventh under head coach Josh Goffi.
This is the Gamecocks’ ninth Round of 16 appearance and their first since 2005.
The program’s best NCAA Championships finish was in the 1989 semifinals.
The last time Goffi was on the courts at the USTA National Campus, he was helping then-junior Paul Jubb win the 2019 NCAA Singles Championship.

About Texas

The 2019 NCAA Champion, Texas brings a 22-5 record into the match after a runner-up finish in the Big 12 Championship and 4-0 wins over Northern Arizona and Northwestern last weekend in Austin.
The Longhorns are 12-5 against ranked opponents, including four wins over top-10 opponents.
Three of the four ranked Longhorns are in the top 100 – No. 23 Eliot Spizzirri, No. 38 Michal Braswell and No. 75 Siem Woldeab. A pair of Texas doubles teams are also ranked – No. 11 Spizzirri/Woldeab and No. 78 Cleeve Harper/Chih Chi Huang.
South Carolina is 1-6 all-time against Texas with the last meeting coming in 2013 – a 4-1 Texas victory at ITA Kickoff Weekend in Lexington, Ky. Prior to that, the two programs had not met since 1991.

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