Gamecocks Drop SEC Opener

Columbia, S.C. – No. 16 South Carolina men’s tennis fell 2-4 to No. 25 LSU on Friday afternoon. A very close doubles point fell in favor of the Tigers and they were able to secure three singles wins for the victory.

In doubles, the crowd was treated to a rare moment with all three doubles matches needing tiebreaks for the decision. The first to complete was at the No. 3 position where the freshman duo of Sean Daryabeigi and Jelani Sarr dropped their match 7-6(4).

The next match to finish was at the top of the lineup where No. 9 Casey Hoole and Toby Samuel proved they are worthy of their rankings after coming back from down 2-4 to force their tiebreaker. In the breaker the Gamecocks went up 4-2 and saved a few match points before finally closing it out 7-6(9).

The final decision came to the No. 2 position where Lucas Andrade da Silva and James Story were also in a tiebreak. Their breaker was also close but fell in favor of the Tigers 7-6(5), giving LSU the doubles point.

In singles play, the Tigers were quick to add to their lead with Alessio Vazquez defeating No. 120 Sarr 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 4 position. The Gamecocks claimed the next two singles wins to even things up at 2-2 with Story and No. 71 Samuel both recording 6-3, 6-4 wins at the No. 3 and 1 positions respectively.

LSU tacked on another point from Court 5 leaving the final two matches as must-wins for the Gamecocks. On Court 2 and Court 5, both Hoole and Daryabeigi were headed to third sets.

LSU’s winning point came from the No. 2 court where No. 122 George Stoupe bested No. 106 Hoole 6-4, 3-6, 3-6.

The men’s tennis team will continue SEC action at home on Sunday, hosting No. 12 Texas A&M at noon. The match will be played at the Carolina Tennis Center.

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

(25) LSU 4, (16) South Carolina 2

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

1. #9 Toby Samuel/Casey Hoole (SC) def. Stefan Latinovic/Aleksi Lofman (LSU) 7-6 (9-7)
2. Welsh Hotard/George Stoupe (LSU) def. Lucas Andrade da Silva/James Story (SC) 7-6 (7-5)
3. Chen Dong/Julien Penzlin (LSU) def. Jelani Sarr/Sean Daryabeigi (SC) 7-6 (7-4)

Singles (order of finish: 4, 3, 1, 5, 2)

1. #71 Toby Samuel (SC) def. Stefan Latinovic (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
2. #122 George Stoupe (LSU) def. #106 Casey Hoole (SC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
3. James Story (SC) def. Aleksi Lofman (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Alessio Vasquez (LSU) def. #120 Jelani Sarr (SC) 6-2, 6-2
5. Julien Penzlin (LSU) def. Lucas Andrade da Silva (SC) 6-4, 7-5
6. Sean Daryabeigi (SC) vs. Rudy Ceccon (LSU) 2-6, 6-3, 5-4, unfinished