Men's Tennis . April 9, 2023

Samuel and Thomson Defeat Nation’s Second-Ranked Doubles Pair in Loss to Tennessee

Columbia, S.C. – No. 5 South Carolina men’s tennis fell 1-6 to No. 9 Tennessee on Sunday. The two teams battled through a tight doubles point that narrowly fell in Tennessee’s favor and the Volunteers carried the momentum to take five of the six singles matches.

In doubles, the top spot in the lineup was first to finish with a battle for the ages. The nations No. 1 pair of Toby Samuel and Connor Thomson took on No. 2 ranked Pat Harper and Johannus Monday. The Gamecocks earned a break on the Volunteers second service game to take a 4-1 lead, but the Vols took the break back to tie things at four all. From there, each team won their own games, forcing the match to a tiebreaker.

The Gamecocks struck first in the breaker, going up 2-0, but the Vols never led the lead get too far. They battled back to tie it at three all, but Thomson and Samuel claimed the next three points for the longest lead thus far at 6-3. Harper and Monday didn’t back away, claiming the next three points to tie at six all and again at seven all after the Gamecocks picked up a point. Samuel and Thomson finally called match, taking the next two points to earn the win 7-6(7).

Both remaining doubles matches were also into tiebreaks that ultimately fell Tennessee’s way with No. 44 Emile Hudd and Shunsuke Mitsui defeating No. 31 Jake Beasley and James Story 7-6(4), and Angel Diaz and Martim Prata defeating Casey Hoole and new doubles partner Lucas da Silva by the same margin. Da Silva was filling in the the consistent No. 3 doubles and singles player Raphael Lambling who missed the day’s action due to illness.

In singles play, the Volunteers took the five of the six matches with South Carolina’s lone point coming on Court 3 where Story defeated Tennessee’s Blaise Bicknell 7-6(4), 6-4.

The men’s tennis team will continue SEC action next week, splitting time on the road and at home. The Gamecocks will travel to College Station, Texas, to face Texas A&M on Friday and will return home to conclude the dual season against Florida on Sunday.

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

#9 Tennessee 6, #5 South Carolina 1

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

#1 Toby Samuel/Connor Thomson (SC) def. #2 Johannus Monday/Pat Harper (UT) 7-6 (9-7)
#44 Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. #31 Jake Beasley/James Story (SC) 7-6 (7-4)
Angel Diaz/Martim Prata (UT) def. Casey Hoole/Lucas da Silva (SC) 7-6 (7-4)

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