Skip to main content
Partner logo
Mobile Icon Link Mobile Icon Link Mobile Icon Link Gamecocks+
Gamecocks Look to Continue Perfect Home Record
Men's Tennis  . 

Gamecocks Look to Continue Perfect Home Record

Columbia, S.C. – No. 10 South Carolina men’s tennis continues conference play this weekend, hosting No. 41 Vanderbilt on Friday at 5 p.m. and No. 12 Kentucky on Sunday at noon at the Carolina Tennis Center. Admission to both matches is free and open to the public. Friday’s match will be aired on the Cracked Racquets SEC CrossCourt Cast, streaming on GamecocksOnline.com. Live stats and streaming will be provided for both matches on GamecockOnline.com.
 
Gamecock Notables

  • The Gamecocks are 16-5 on the season with four wins over top-10 teams, including a win over then-No. 1 Tennessee on the road.
  • South Carolina is ranked No. 10 in the latest ITA rankings, marking their sixth consecutive week in the top-10.
  • The Gamecocks are on a 15-match home winning streak, dating back to the 2021 season. The Gamecocks are undefeated at home through the 2022 season (12-0).
  • Junior Daniel Rodrigues was named SEC Player of the Week for weeks 9 and 10 of the season. He is on a seven-match winning streak with all seven wins coming over ranked opponents. He is slated to take on two more ranked opponents at the top of the lineup this weekend and is looking to keep his streak alive.
  • Rodrigues’ most recent singles win over Alex Reco of Arkansas marked his 100th career singles win as a Gamecock. He is just the tenth player in program history to achieve this milestone.
  • The Gamecocks swept Arkansas on the road in their latest outing. Sophomore James Story clinched the match with an upset win over No. 67 Aleksa Bucan at the No. 5 spot in the lineup.

 
Scouting the Commodores

  • No. 41 Vanderbilt is 14-6 overall and 2-5 in conference play. Their most notable win of the season was a 6-1 upset of then-No. 19 Northwestern.
  • The Commodores are led by No. 44 George Harwell, a fifth-year senior from Nashville, Tenn. Harwell is 10-8 from the No. 1 singles position and holds ranked wins over Nos. 34, 83, and 94.
  • Junior Joubert Klopper is 13-4 from the second spot in the lineup. The junior has defeated Nos. 98 and 114 in dual match action.
  • Vanderbilt is home to the nation’s No. 80 doubles pair in Siim Troost and Michael Ross. The duo is 13-5 from the No. 1 doubles position and has earned ranked wins over Nos. 21, 44, and 60.

 
Scouting the Wildcats

  • Kentucky is 15-4 on the season and 6-1 in SEC matchups. The Wildcats advanced to the ITA Indoor National Championships in Seattle where they defeated 10th seeded Southern California but suffered losses to No. 2 seed Baylor and No. 11 seed South Carolina.
  • South Carolina will be the second of four consecutive top-10 matchups that the Wilcats will play and the only one on the road. Kentucky will host No. 8 Virginia before making the trip to Columbia and will host No. 5 Tennessee and No. 9 Georgia following their matchup with the Gamecocks.
  • Kentucky is home to five ranked singles players, including No. 9 Gabriel Diallo. Diallo is a perfect 9-0 in singles from the third spot in the lineup.
  • The Wildcats are led by No. 94 Liam Draxl who is 9-3 from the top of the lineup. Draxl was notably absent during the matchup in Seattle in which the Gamecocks won 4-1.

 
For all the latest South Carolina men’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
 

Related stories