Skip to main content
Partner logo
Mobile Icon Link Mobile Icon Link Mobile Icon Link Gamecocks+
Gamecocks Enter SEC Tournament as No. 2 Seed
Men's Tennis  . 

Gamecocks Enter SEC Tournament as No. 2 Seed

Athens, Ga.  – No. 9 South Carolina men’s tennis has earned a double-bye as the program record-setting No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament. The Gamecocks will face No. 30 Auburn on Fri., April 22, at 11 a.m. on the McWhorter Courts at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Live stats will be available for the match and ticketing information can be found here. More tournament information can be found on the SEC’s Tournament Central page.  
 
Gamecock Notables

  • The Gamecocks ended the regular season with a 21-5 overall dual record. The team’s .808 winning percentage is the highest since 1985. They have a perfect 15-0 record at home which is the first perfect home season since 1986.
  • South Carolina earned a 10-2 record in SEC play which is the best in program history and enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed which is also a program record.
  • Two Gamecocks are ranked in singles – No. 2 Daniel Rodrigues and No. 94 Toby Samuel.
  • In SEC singles, South Carolina is 49-23 with Rodrigues and junior Raphael Lambling leading the team with 11 wins each.
  • There are two Gamecock pairs in the ITA doubles rankings – No. 22 Rodrigues and Connor Thomson and No. 61 Rodrigues and Beau Pelletier.
  • The Gamecocks are 23-9 overall in SEC doubles matches. Lambling and sophomore James Story lead the pack with an 8-2 doubles record followed closely by Rodrigues and Thomson with a 7-2 record.

 
SEC Tournament Notables

  •  South Carolina is 13-28 all time in SEC Tournament play and has made three appearances in the semifinals – 1999, 2019, and 2021.
  • In the most recent SEC Tournament, South Carolina went to the semifinals after upsetting No. 9 Georgia in the quarterfinals.
  • South Carolina has made it to the quarterfinals six times under head coach Josh Goffi and enters the tournament with their seventh appearance after earning a double-bye as the No. 2 seed.

 
The Auburn Series

  • South Carolina evened the all-time series against Auburn during the regular season with a 6-1 win on the road. The two teams now have a 21-21 all time record against each other.
  • The Gamecocks have a nine-match win streak over the Tigers with five of the wins coming either on the road or at neutral sites.
  • Auburn leads the series 4-1 in the SEC Tournament but South Carolina earned the most recent win in 2021 with a 4-1 victory in the second round.

 
Scouting the Tigers

  • Auburn had an 18-9 record in the regular season and a 5-7 mark in conference play. They entered the tournament as the No. 7 seed and defeated No. 10 seed Ole Miss to advance to the quarterfinals.
  • The Tigers ended their SEC season on a dry spell, falling to No. 9 South Carolina, No. 3 Florida, No. 11 Georgia, and No. 5 Tennessee.
  • Auburn is led by junior Tyler Stice who is 13-9 from the No. 1 position. Stice is the only Tiger ranked in singles where he comes in at No. 28 in the nation.
  • The Tigers doubles are led by Tad McClean and Finlay Murgett who are ranked No. 11 by the ITA. The duo is 16-5 overall and 9-2 against SEC opponents

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

Related stories