Samuel, Thomson Turn Sights to NCAA Doubles Championships

Orlando, Fla. – South Carolina’s men’s tennis juniors Toby Samuel and Connor Thomson will now turn their full attention to the NCAA Doubles Championship after Thomson fell out of the Singles Championship on Tuesday.

Thomson’s Round of 32 singles match was just minutes away from starting on the outdoor courts at the USTA National Campus when play was suspended due to lightning in the area. It wasn’t long after that the rain began, sending all players in the draw into a all-too-familiar weather delay.

The NCAA quickly made the decision to move indoors but with only six indoor courts available, matches who were interrupted by the weather had priority.

Thomson again waited through a weather delay and finally took to the court indoors a little over two hours after his scheduled match time.

Facing No. 34 James Trotter of Ohio State, the two competitors were even throughout the first set with no breaks either way until the very last game of the set. With Thomson serving, the Gamecock finally ceded a game, giving Trotter the set 7-5.

In the second set, Thomson could never seem to gain his momentum back and was only able to claim one game, allowing Trotter to take the match with a 6-1 final set.

Thomson’s journey in the Singles Championship ended in the second round but he will still be named an ITA All-American in singles for entering the tournament as a No. 9-16 seed, his first All-American honor in singles.

Thomson ends his singles season with a team-leading 34-7 record and now has 106 singles win throughout his career, the sixth most in program history.

Thomson was also scheduled to begin his journey in the NCAA Doubles Championship on Tuesday alongside Samuel but with play delayed by multiple hours and due to the lack of indoor courts, the decision was made to cancel all men’s doubles matches on the day. The first round of men’s doubles action will begin on Wednesday with two rounds of play scheduled to take place on Thursday.

Samuel and Thomson, the No. 1 overall seed in the Doubles Championship, will take on No. 10 Ozan Baris and Max Sheldon of Michigan State in their first round match on Wednesday beginning at 2:00 p.m.

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

Singles Round of 32

(34) James Trotter (OSU) def. (16) Connor Thomson (SC) 7-5, 6-1