Men's Tennis . April 12, 2023

Men’s Tennis Wraps Up Regular Season With Split Weekend

Columbia, S.C. – No. 9 South Carolina men’s tennis will conclude the regular season this weekend, splitting time on the road and at home. The Gamecocks will travel to College Station to take on No. 24 Texas A&M on Thursday, April 13, before returning home to conclude the season against No. 21 Florida on Sunday, April 16.

South Carolina’s match at Texas A&M, originally scheduled for Friday, April 14, has been moved up to Thursday due to forecasted rain in the area and no indoor courts available. The match will now take place on Thursday, April 13, beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET.

The Gamecocks’ regular-season finale will be on Sunday, April 16, at 1:00 p.m. The match will also be senior day honoring fourth-year member Connor Thomson.

Gamecock Notables

The Gamecocks are ranked No. 9 in the latest ITA Team Rankings but have been ranked as high as No. 2 this season. The team is 17-5 overall and 6-4 in conference play. They are 7-1 when playing on the road this season and 8-3 when at home.
South Carolina is coming off of a pair of top-10 SEC losses, having fallen to then-No. 7 Georgia and then-No. 9 Tennessee last weekend.
Four Gamecocks are in the ITA Singles Rankings – No. 8 Toby Samuel, No. 17 Thomson, No. 102 Casey Hoole, and No. 120 Raphael Lambling.
Samuel has led the team from the No. 1 position this season where he is 16-4. He has a 21-5 overall record and a 6-3 mark against SEC opponents.
Thomson has been South Carolina’s consistent No. 2 this year. He has an overall record of 28-6 and a 14-4 mark at the second spot in the lineup. He is 6-2 in conference play.
Samuel and Thomson continue to hold the top spot in the ITA Doubles Rankings. The duo has been ranked at No. 1 for the past eight consecutive weeks and have an overall record of 21-2. They are 14-2 from the No. 1 spot in the lineup and have a 7-1 record in SEC play. They are coming off of a win over the nation’s No. 2 pair from Tennessee.
Also in the doubles rankings is No. 51 Jake Beasley and James Story. The duo is 21-10 overall and 12-7 from the No. 2 spot this season.

Scouting the Aggies

Texas A&M is currently ranked No. 24 in the ITA Team Rankings and has been ranked as high as No. 21 this season. The team is 14-9 overall and 6-4 in SEC play. They have a 10-2 record when playing on their home courts this season.
The Aggies are coming off of a narrow 3-4 loss at Ole Miss. Prior to their meeting with the Rebels, the team had won three straight SEC matches, including an upset of then-No. 19 Florida.
Three players are in the ITA Singles Rankings for Texas A&M – No. 56 Noah Schachter, No. 64 Raphael Perot, and No. 110 Pierce Rollins.
Schachter has held down the No. 1 spot in the lineup for the team. He is 9-8 at that position and 5-5 against SEC opponents.
Perot has been the Aggies primary No. 2 this season. He is 13-5 at the second spot in the lineup and 6-4 in SEC play.
Schachter and Trey Hilderband have been the team’s No. 1 doubles pairing this season. They are 13-8 from that position and 5-4 in SEC play.

Scouting the Gators

Florida is currently ranked No. 21 in the ITA Team Rankings but began the season ranked at No. 13. They have fallen as far as No. 26 after a loss to then No. 66 Alabama, but have climbed back up as high as No. 19 since then.
The team is 13-10 overall and has a 5-5 mark in conference play. The have a 4-2 record when playing on the road this season. Florida will face No. 5 Kentucky on Friday before taking on No. 9 South Carolina on Sunday.
The Gator’s previous two SEC matches have been tight battles with a pair of 3-4 losses to then-No. 9 Tennessee and then-No. 7 Georgia.
There are two Gators in the ITA Singles Rankings – No. 83 Will Grant and No. 106 Jonah Braswell.
Florida has been led this season by Axel Nevfe who is 10-10 at the No. 1 position and 6-4 against SEC opponents.
Grant plays at the No. 2 position for the team where he is 10-8. He is also 6-4 in SEC play.
Braswell, the freshman standout, has split time at the Nos. 3 and 4 postions this year. He is 25-12 overall with a 10-9 record in dual play and 5-5 mark against SEC opponents.
In the doubles rankings, Grant and Nefve come in at No. 6 in the nation while Tanapatt Nirundorn and Togan Tokac are No. 19. Florida is one of only three schools to have two doubles pairs in the top-20.
Grant and Nevfe hold primary duties at the No. 1 doubles position where they are 12-5. The pair is 6-3 in SEC play and 13-8 overall.
Nirundorn and Tokac have played nine duals together, all from the No. 2 position where they are 5-4. They have not played any SEC matches while paired together.

The Texas A&M Series

Texas A&M leads the all-time series 13-5. They hold the longest win streak of the series with ten wins between 2012-2019.
South Carolina won the last matchup 6-1 in Columbia. It was the Gamecocks’ first win over Texas A&M in Columbia in program history.
Of South Carolina’s five wins in the series, four have come on neutral territory with the most recent win happening in Columbia.
The first match of the series went to the Aggies with a 6-3 win in Columbia in 1984. The Gamecocks went on to take the next three matchups in 1986, 1989, and 1991.
Since A&M joined the SEC in 2012, the two teams have faced 14 times with South Carolina winning only two of those.
The Gamecocks have never beaten the Aggies on their home courts in College Station.

The Florida Series

Florida leads the all-time series 33-6. They hold the longest win streak of the series with 15 wins between 2002-2012.
The Gators have won each of the last three matchups, with a 7-0 sweep of thee Gamecocks in 2022.
South Carolina’s last win came in a narrow 4-3 decision at home in 2018.
The first match of thee series was in 1941 with Florida taking the match 5-2.
Of South Carolina’s six wins in thee series, four of them have come on their home courts in Columbia,

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