Men's Tennis . April 13, 2023

Men’s Tennis Earns First Ever Win at Texas A&M

Columbia, S.C. – No. 9 South Carolina men’s tennis defeated No. 24 Texas A&M 4-1 in College Station on Thursday night. The Gamecocks dropped the doubles point but claimed four straight singles matches for the win, giving them their first ever road win over the Aggies.

The doubles point was a close battle with all three courts needed for the decision. The Aggies struck first with Pierce Rollins and Matthis Ross defeating No. 1 Connor Thomson and Toby Samuel 6-3 from the top spot in the lineup.

The decision was evened from the second spot in the lineup where No. 51 Jake Beasley and James Story won their match in a tiebreak. The duo battled back from down a break in the match to send it to the tiebreaker. They got off to a slow start, going down 1-3 early and trailed 3-5, but rallied to take the next four points to win it 7-6(5).

The final match on was between Gamecocks Raphael Lambling and Casey Hoole and Aggies Raphael Perot and Kenner Taylor. The Gamecocks earned an early break to go up 3-1 and held the lead to 5-3, but the Aggies finally took the break back and were able to force the match to a tiebreaker. In the breaker, Lambling and Hoole went up 3-0 to start but couldn’t carry the momentum, allowing their opponents to make a comeback to take the breaker 7-4, clinching the doubles point.

Play moved to singles where No. 8 Samuel made quick work of No. 64 Perot, beating him 6-1, 6-2 in under an hour of play.

No. 17 Thomson was next to pick up a singles point to give South Carolina the lead. He took down No. 110 Rollins in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.

Story was the next Gamecock to record a win. He defeated Giulio Perego 6-4, 6-4 for his second win in as many matches.

It was No. 102 Hoole who finally clinched the match for the team in a thrilling three set comeback. After dropping his first set 4-6, the sophomore rallied to take the second set in a dominant 6-2 decision and nearly shutting out his opponent in the third, 6-1 for the clinch.

On Court 4, No. 120 Lambling was leading his opponent 6-4, 3-2 and on Court 6 Beasley had split sets with his opponents 3-6, 6-4 when play was suspended.

The win marks the first time in program history that South Carolina has earned a win over the Aggies in College Station. The Gamecocks have now won six matches in the all-time series with four on neutral territory, one in Columbia (2022) and one in College Station (2023).

The men’s tennis team will conclude the regular season at home on Sunday, hosting No. 21 Florida at 1:00 p.m. The match will also be senior day for the Gamecocks honoring both Thomson and Story. Gates will open at noon with the senior recognition beginning at approximately 12:40

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

#9 South Carolina 4, #24 Texas A&M 1

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

Pierce Rollins/Matthis Ross (TAM) def. #1 Connor Thomson/Toby Samuel (SC) 6-3
#51 James Story/Jake Beasley (SC) def. Trey Hilderbrand/Giulio Perego (TAM) 7-6 (7-5)
Raphael Perot/Kenner Taylor (TAM) def. Raphael Lambling/Casey Hoole (SC) 7-6 (7-4)

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