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Gamecocks Open SEC Season Against Pair of Top-25 Teams
Men's Tennis  . 

Gamecocks Open SEC Season Against Pair of Top-25 Teams

Columbia, S.C. – No. 16 South Carolina men’s tennis will open the SEC season at home this weekend with matches against No. 25 LSU and No. 12 Texas A&M. The Gamecocks will face the Tigers on Fri., Match 1 at 3:00 p.m. and the Aggies on Sun., March 3 at noon.

The match between South Carolina and LSU will take place at the Carolina Indoor Tennis Center located at 523 Superior Street. Doors will open one hour prior to the start of the match.

The match between South Carolina and Texas A&M will take place at the Carolina Tennis Center located at 1318 Heyward Street. Spectator parking will be available at the Indoor Tennis Center and at meters surrounding the athletic village.

Those not in attendance can view live streaming versus LSU here with live stats here. For the match versus Texas A&M, live streaming will be available here with live stats here.

Gamecock Notables

  • South Carolina enters the SEC season ranked No. 16 in the country. The team is coming off of a pair of 7-0 sweeps over the Citadel and has a 6-5 record on the season.
  • The Gamecocks have three players in the ITA Singles Rankings – No. 71 Toby Samuel, No. 106 Casesy Hoole, and No. 120 Jelani Sarr.
  • In the doubles rankings, Hoole and Samuel come in at No. 9 in the country after recording wins over then-Nos. 14 and 5 at the ITA Indoor Championships in New York.
  • South Carolina has already faced both LSU and Texas A&M this season with the Gamecocks defeating the Tigers 4-1 at home in January and falling to the Aggies 1-4 at the ITA Indoor Championships.

Scouting the Tigers

  • LSU is 10-1 this season with their lone loss coming at the hands of the Gamecocks during the second round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Columbia. The Tigers are 1-1 when playing on the road this season.
  • George Stoupe is the lone Tiger in the ITA Singles Rankings, coming in at No. 122. Stoupe is 11-5 overall this season and 5-2 in dual play.
  • Stefan Latinovic has primarily played at the top of the singles lineup for the Tigers where he is 6-1. He is 12-9 overall.
  • Overall, LSU is 47-16 in dual singles matches.
  • The Tigers have also had doubles success this season with a 19-5 dual doubles record. Latinovic has spent all season at the top of the doubles lineup, pairing with Chen Dong for a 3-1 record and with Aleski Lofman, also for a 3-1 record.

Series History

  • LSU leads the all-time series 29-20 but South Carolina has won each of the last ten meetings.
  • The two teams first faced in 1973 in Baton Rouge with LSU winning 6-3.
  • Through the last ten meetings, South Carolina has won by a margin of 42-20.
  • LSU’s last win in Columbia was in a 5-2 result in 2011.

Scouting the Aggies

  • Texas A&M is ranked No. 12 in the latest ITA Team Rankings. The team started the season at No. 19 and has climbed up to No. 12 where they have been for the last two ranking releases.
  • The Aggies have four players in the ITA Singles Rankings – No. 69 Raphael Perot, No. 86 Guilio Perego, No. 87 Togan Tokac, and No. 94 JC Roddick.
  • Perot has been a constituent No. 1 for the Aggies with a 7-3 record at the top of the lineup. Roddick has been the team’s primary No. 2 where he has a 5-2 record.
  • In dual singles play, Texas A&M has a record of 40-19.
  • In the ITA Doubles Rankings, Perot and Tiago Pires come in at No. 57. The duo is 6-5 overall and 4-3 from the No. 3 position.
  • During the meeting between South Carolina and Texas A&M at the ITA Indoor Championships, South Carolina took the doubles point but the Aggies won the match in singles.

Series History

  • Texas A&M leads the all-time series 15-6. The two teams first faced in 1984 with the Aggies wining 6-3. South Carolina went on to win the next three matchups from 1986-1991.
  • South Carolina and Texas A&M faced twice in 2023 with split results. During the SEC regular season, South Carolina came out on top 4-1 in College Station and during the SEC Tournament the Aggies won 4-2 at a neutral site.
  • Since joining the SEC in 2012, Texas A&M is 13-3 against South Carolina.

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

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