Men's Tennis . April 20, 2023

Gamecocks Begin SEC Tournament in Quarterfinal Against Texas A&M

Auburn, Ala. – No. 6 South Carolina men’s tennis has earned a double bye as the No. 4 seed at this years SEC Tournament in Auburn, Alabama. The Gamecocks will face fifth-seeded and No. 21 ranked Texas A&M on Fri., April 21 at 7:00 p.m. ET at the Yarbrough Tennis Center at Auburn University.

A full schedule of matches with live stat links along with ticket sales and additional spectator information can be found of the Tournament Central webpage.

Gamecock Notables

South Carolina begins postseason play ranked at No. 6 in the nation. The Gamecocks made the jump up from No. 9 this week following a pair of top-25 wins over then-No. 24 Texas A&M and then-No. 21 Florida to close the regular season.
The team is 19-5 overall and has an 8-4 mark in conference play. They are 8-1 when playing away matches and 2-1 when playing at neutral sites this season.
There are four Gamecocks in the ITA Singles Rankings – No. 8 Toby Samuel, No. 17 Connor Thomson, No. 96 Casey Hoole, and No. 118 Raphael Lambling.
Samuel has led the team from the top spot in the lineup where he has amassed an 18-4 record and 8-3 mark in SEC play. He is 23-5 overall and has a total of 14 ranked wins this season.
Thomson is South Carolina’s primary No. 2 player. The junior has a 30-6 overall record with a 17-4 mark in dual play. He recorded a team-leading 8-2 record against SEC opponents.
Lambling and Hoole play at the No. 4 and 5 position respectively. Both Gamecocks recorded five singles wins in SEC play this season.
South Carolina also has two pairs represented in the ITA Doubles Rankings – No. 1 Samuel and Thomson and No. 44 Jake Beasley and James Story.
Samuel and Thomson have held the No. 1 spot in the national rankings for nine straight weeks this season. They have an overall record of 21-4 and went 14-4 in dual play. They earned a 7-3 mark in SEC action including a win over the nation’s No. 2 ranked pair.
Beasley and Story have also put up impressive numbers this season with an overall record of 23-10 and a 15-8 dual record.

SEC Tournament History

South Carolina is 13-29 all time in the SEC Tournament and has made three appearance in the semifinals – 1999, 2019, and 2021
In the most recent SEC Tournament, the Gamecocks earned their highest seed in program history at No. 2 but fell in the quarterfinals to Auburn.
South Carolina has made it to the quarterfinals seven times under head coach Josh Goffi and enters the tournament with their eighth appearance after earning a doubles-bye as the No. 4 seed.

Scouting the Aggies

Texas A&M is currently ranked No. 21 in the ITA Team Rankings which ties for their highest ranking of the season. They were ranked No. 24 when South Carolina played them in the final weekend of regular season matches.
The team is 16-10 overall and went 7-5 in SEC play. They are 3-7 when playing on the road and 1-0 at neutral sites this season. They wrapped up the regular season with an upset win over then-No. 17 Auburn and a sweep of UIW.
Four Aggies are in the ITA Singles Rankings – No. 50 Noah Schachter, No. 64 Raphael Perot, No. 110 Trey Hilderbrand, and No. 125 Pierce Rollins.
The Aggies also have two pairs in the doubles rankings – No. 39 Schachter and Hilderbrand, and No. 71 Rollins and Mattis Ross.

Series History

Texas A&M leads the all-time series 13-6. They hold the longest win streak of the series with ten wins between 2012-2019.
Of South Carolina’s six wins in the series, four have come on neutral territory with the Gamecocks adding their first win in Columbia in 2022 and their first win in College Station in 2023.
The Gamecocks came away with the win in this season’s head-to-head matchup. The Aggies took the doubles point but South Carolina battled back to claim the win with four straight singles victories.

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