Samuel, Thomson Earn No. 1 Overall Seed in NCAA Doubles Tournament
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina men’s tennis juniors Toby Samuel and Connor Thomson have been invited both the NCAA Singles and Doubles Tournaments. Each player earned an at-large bid to the singles competition as a 9-16 seed and the duo together will be the No. 1 overall seed in the doubles competition.
The 64-player singles event and the 32-team doubles even will be held May 22-27 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., following the conclusion of the team championships.
Samuel is currently ranked No. 9 in the nation by the ITA but has been ranked as high as No. 3 this season. He earned the highest ranked win of his career in February, taking down then-No. 5 Ethan Quinn of Georgia in straight sets.
The Bournemouth, England, native complied a 23-5 overall record with an 18-4 mark in dual play this season. He went 14-5 against ranked foes with four wins in the top-50 and two wins in the top-10.
This will be Samuel’s first career trip to the NCAA Singles and Doubles Tournaments and he enters the singles tournament as a 9-16 seed.
Thomson is currently ranked No. 14 in the nation by the ITA but has been ranked as high as No. 5 this season. He earned the highest ranked win of his career at the ITA Indoor National Championships in Chicago, defeating then-No. 8 Philip Henning of Georgia in straight sets.
The Glasgow, Scotland, native has a singles record of 31-6 this season with an 18-4 mark in dual play. He went 11-3 against ranked opponents with five top-25 wins and three wins in the top-10.
Thomson is no stranger to the NCAA Singles and Doubles tournaments, having competed in both the singles and doubles tournaments in 2021, and the doubles tournament in 2022. During the 2022 doubles event, Thomson and partner Daniel Rodrigues became the furthest advancing pair in program history, making a run to the semifinal match and earning All-America status. This will be Thomson’s first time entering the tournament with a seed, joining Samuel as a No. 9-16 seed.
Together, Samuel and Thomson amassed and impressive 22-4 doubles record with a 15-4 mark in dual play. The duo won the ITA All-American Championship title in the fall, becoming the first players in program history to be All-American Champions. They are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation by the ITA, becoming the first pair in program history to hold that distinction, and have held that position for eleven consecutive weeks.
The duo went 11-2 against ranked pairs with eleven wins in the top-50 including six in the top-25 and three in the top-10. They are the first pair in program history to ever earn the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Doubles Tournament.
South Carolina is one of only two schools to have multiple players seeded in the singles tournament and is the only school to have multiple players seeded in the singles tournament as well as a seed in the doubles tournament.
The 2023 singles draw includes 12 SEC selections with five of them holding seeds, including two of the top 5. In doubles, seven SEC duos were selected with four of them holding seeds, including two of the top 4.
Action at the Singles and Double Tournaments will begin on May 22 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
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