Samuel Named SEC Player of the Week
Columbia, S.C. – The Southeastern Conference has announced South Carolina men’s tennis junior Toby Samuel as SEC Player of the Week for the eighth week of the season.
Samuel has led South Carolina to a 14-1 start to the season and a perfect 3-0 mark in conference play. He also helped the Gamecocks to achieve the highest ranking in program history, coming in at No. 2 in the latest ITA Team Rankings after defeating No. 4 Ohio State 4-1 and sweeping No. 66 Alabama 7-0.
Against No. 4 Ohio State, Samuel and partner Connor Thomson defeated the nation’s No. 7 pair of Andrew Lutschaunig and James Trotter, putting an end to the Buckeye duo’s four-match win streak. The No. 1 ranked South Carolina pair clinched the doubles point for the Gamecocks with their 6-4 win from the No. 1 position. In singles, Samuel went on to defeat No. 58 Justin Boulais in straight sets to add to South Carolina’s lead and eventual upset of Ohio State.
Against No. 66 Alabama, Samuel kicked off the singles wins for the Gamecocks, defeating No. 63 Enzo Aguiard in dominating fashion, 6-2, 6-1.
Samuel is now 12-2 in dual play and 17-3 overall in singles. All 12 of his dual wins have come from the top spot in the singles lineup. He also holds a 9-3 record against ranked opponents.
In doubles, Samuel is 16-1 overall and 9-1 from the No. 1 position. He is 8-1 over ranked opponents with two top-10 wins.
South Carolina has now claimed Player of the Week honors during four of the eight weeks of the award this season. Thomson earned the award during the first week of the season, junior James Story earned the award during the fourth and seventh weeks of the season, and Samuel has now claimed the award for the eighth week.
South Carolina is the only team in the league with more than two Player of the Week honors this season.
The men’s tennis team will continue conference play this weekend, hitting the road to face No. 45 LSU on March 17 at 6:00 p.m. ET before heading to No. 14 Mississippi State on March 19, at 2:00 p.m. ET.
For all the latest South Carolina men’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
