Men's Tennis . March 8, 2023

No. 5 South Carolina Defends Home Courts Against No. 4 Ohio State

Columbia, S.C. – No. 5 South Carolina took down No. 4 Ohio State 4-1 on Wednesday, earning their second top-5 upset in a week. The Gamecocks took the doubles point and earned a trio of straight-sets singles wins to defend their home courts.

The day started in doubles where the Buckeyes were first to record a win. Robert Cash and Justin Boulais defeated No. 22 Jake Beasley and James Story 6-2. The Gamecocks were quick to even the decision though, with Raphael Lambling and Casey Hoole earning a 6-2 win from the No. 3 position just moments later.

The doubles clinching win came from the top spot in the lineup where No. 1 Toby Samuel and Connor Thomson were taking on No. 7 Andrew Lutschaunig and James Trotter. The Gamecocks earned an early break to go up 3-1 and were able to carry the lead through, taking their match 6-4 to secure the doubles point.

Play transitioned to singles where Beasley was the first to get his job done, earning his second ranked upset of the week. Beasley took down No. 116 Cash in dominating 6-2, 6-2 fashion.

Samuel was the next Gamecock to put a point on the board. The sixth-ranked Gamecock took on No. 58 Boulais from the top spot in the lineup. The Bournemouth, England native was relentless, taking down Boulais 6-4, 6-3.

The Buckeyes were able to get their lone point on the board with No. 39 Cannon Kingsley defeating No. 5 Thomson 6-3, 6-4.

It wasn’t long after that Story was able to clinch the match for South Carolina. The junior got off to a strong start in singles with an early break to go up 4-1, but his opponent, No. 52 Trotter, wasn’t backing down. Trotter claimed the next three games to tie the set up a four all. Story took his next service game but Trotter was right behind him, tying again at five all. The Gamecock again claimed his own service game and was able push Trotter’s service game to deuce where Story prevailed, taking the first set 7-5.

In the second set, both competitors were taking their own service games until Story was finally able to earn a break while up 3-2, to increase his lead to 4-2. From there, Story was able to maintain his lead and served out the match, sealing it with an ace to win 6-3.

The Gamecocks will be back in action next this Friday. March 10, where they will host No. 66 Alabama. The match will begin at 3:00 p.m.

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

(5) South Carolina 4, (4) Ohio State 1

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

#1 Toby Samuel/Connor Thomson (SC) def. #7 Andrew Lutschaunig/James Trotter (OSU) 6-4
Robert Cash/Justin Boulais (OSU) def. #22 Jake Beasley/James Story (SC) 6-2
Raphael Lambling/Casey Hoole (SC) def. Cannon Kingsley/JJ Tracy (OSU) 6-2

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