Men’s Tennis Earns Top-10 Win on The Road

Winston-Salem, N.C. – No. 8 South Carolina men’s tennis defeated No. 9 Wake Forest on the road on Sunday in a strong 5-2 showing. The Gamecocks took the doubles point and three consecutive singles matches to clinch the match and picked up another point as matches played out.

Doubles was a battle with all three courts begin needed for the decision. The nation’s No. 3 pair Connor Thomson and Toby Samuel got the first win 6-3 at the top spot in the lineup, but the Demon Deacons evened the decision with a win on Court 3 by the same margin.

All eyes moved to Court 2 where No. 30 Jake Beasley and James Story were in a neck-and-neck battle with Luciano Tacchi and Jurabek Karimov of Wake Forest. The match was even throughout but the Gamecocks prevailed, earning a break at the last second to take the match 7-5.

Play moved to singles where South Carolina looked strong, winning three straight courts to clinch the match at 4-0. Beasley was first to clear his court, taking down his opponent in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. His doubles partner Story was next to get the job done, also winning his match in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

The match was again clinched by Thomson on Court 2. The junior was resilient in his match, taking the first set 7-5 before coming back to take the second 6-4. Thomson has clinched five of South Carolina’s eight matches this season.

Remaining singles matches played out where Wake Forest picked up wins on Courts 5 and 3, but Samuel closed the day out with another Gamecock win from Court 1, taking his match 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-1.

The men’s tennis team will stay on the road, traveling to Chicago, Ill., for the ITA Indoor National Championships. Play will run from Feb. 17-20 at the XS Tennis Village. A bracket for the Championships will be released by the ITA at a later date.

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

(8) South Carolina 5, (9) Wake Forest 2

Doubles (order of finish: 1, 3, 2)

1. #3 Connor Thomson/Toby Samuel (SC) def. Juan Lopez de Azcona/Filippo Moroni (WFU) 6-3
2. #30 Jake Beasley/James Story (SC) def. Luciano Tacchi/Jurabek Karimov (WFU) 7-5
3. Matthew Thomson/Melios Efstathiou (WFU) def. #59 Casey Hoole/Raphael Lambling (SC) 6-3

Singles (order of finish: 6, 4, 2, 5, 3, 1)

1. #11 Toby Samuel (SC) def. Melios Efstathiou (WFU) 6-3, 6-7 (7-9), 6-1
2. #12 Connor Thomson (SC) def. Filippo Moroni (WFU) 7-5, 6-4
3. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. #67 Raphael Lambling (SC) 7-5, 7-5
4. James Story (SC) def. Jurabek Karimov (WFU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Matthew Thomson (WFU) def. Casey Hoole (SC) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
6. Jake Beasley (SC) def. Juan Lopez de Azcona (WFU) 6-2, 6-4