Gamecocks to Face Cavaliers in NCAA Super Regionals

Charlottesville, Va.  – No. 10 South Carolina men’s tennis will play in the NCAA Championships Round of 16 for the second consecutive year, facing No. 7 Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., on Fri., May 13, at 3 p.m. Admission to the match will be $5 and tickets can be purchased at this link. All matches of the NCAA Championships will be live streamed by TennisONE. Live stats will be provided here.
 
Gamecock Notables

• South Carolina enters the match with a 23-6 overall record, including 13 wins over ranked opponents with four of them being in the top 10.
• The Gamecocks have two singles players in the ITA national rankings as well as two doubles pairs. The rankings are highlighted by the nation’s No. 1 player Daniel Rodrigues. Sophomore Toby Samuel is also in the rankings at No. 82. Rodrigues and partner Connor Thomson are ranked No. 18 in doubles, and Rodrigues is ranked No. 57 in doubles with Beau Pelletier.
• Rodrigues, a First-Team All-SEC selection, has a 22-3 record at the No. 1 singles position. He has 17 wins over ranked opponents on the year and went on a 12-match win streak to end the regular season with all 12 wins coming over ranked opponents.
• Samuel, another First-Team All-SEC selection, has a 17-5 record in dual matches and has 16 wins from the No. 2 position. He has clinched a team-high seven matches this season and has won his last seven completed matches.
• Second-Team All-SEC selection Thomson is 21-5 in dual-match play and has a 19-5 record from the third spot in the lineup. The sophomore has a 4-3 record against ranked opponents, including wins over Nos. 38, 51, 74, and 93.
• The Gamecocks have won 22 doubles points this season in 29 matches, including each of the last nine matches.
• South Carolina is one of four SEC teams still in the NCAA Championships, which began with 10 SEC entries.
• A win over No. 7 Virginia would be the furthest the Gamecocks have advanced in the NCAA Championships during the Josh Goffi era and the furthest the team has advanced since its semifinal appearance in 1989.

 
South Carolina NCAA Tournament Notables

• The Gamecocks are playing in their 26^th NCAA Championships, including eight under head coach Josh Goffi.
• This is the Gamecocks’ 10th Round of 16 appearance and second-consecutive appearance.
• The program’s best NCAA Championships finish was in the 1989 semifinals.

 
Virginia Notables

• The Cavaliers have won four NCAA National Championships with three consecutive in 2015, 2016 and 2017. They have advanced to the quarterfinals in 14 of the last 16 events. Additionally, they have won six ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
• Virginia won the ACC Championship to earn the automatic qualification to the NCAAs. It is 24-5 overall and 12-0 at home this season. All five of its losses came consecutively during early February on the road. Since then, the Cavaliers have gone on a 19-match win streak, including 14 wins over ranked opponents.
• The Cavaliers have four players ranked in singles – No. 30 Chris Rodesch, No. 39 Inaki Montes, No. 45 Jeffery Von Der Schulenburg, and No. 96 Ryan Goetz. They also have four ranked doubles pairs – No. 12 Rodesch/Goetz, No. 61 Bar Botzer/Rodesch, No. 81 Rodesch/William Woodall, and No. 84 Montez/Schulenburg.
• The Cavaliers are led by Rodesch, a sophomore, who earned the ACC’s automatic qualification into the NCAA Singles Championship. As No. 30 in the nation, he is the highest-ranked player in the ACC.
• Goetz, a senior, enters the matchup on a 10-match singles win streak. He is a perfect 9-0 at the No. 4 position.

 
Series History

• South Carolina is 8-6 all time against Virginia and holds the longest win streak of the series with seven wins between 1976-1998.
• The two teams first faced each other on April 6, 1957, in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers took the match 8-1.
• The most recent matchup was in May 4, 2019, during the second round of the NCAA Championships. No. 5 Virginia defeated No. 17 South Carolina 4-1 in Charlottesville to advance to the Round of 16. Prior to that, the two programs had not met since 1998.

 
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