
Men’s Tennis Travels to Florida for ITA Kickoff Weekend
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – No. 16 South Carolina men’s tennis is set to compete in the ITA Kickoff Weekend hosted by Florida State on Jan. 24 and 25.
The Gamecocks will face No. 15 San Diego in the first round on Friday at 2:00 p.m. The two other programs at the site, UNCW and FSU, compete at 5:00 p.m. On Saturday the consolation match takes place at 2:00 p.m. while the winners match is slated for 5:00 p.m. The champion of this location advances to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship which takes place from Feb. 14-16 at SMU and Baylor.
Gamecock Notables
- The Gamecocks enter this competition with a 2-1 dual record after hosting the first three matches of the spring season at home.
- South Carolina kicked off 2025 with a doubleheader at home, welcoming Furman and The Citadel on Jan. 12. The Garnet & Black swept both programs 7-0. In singles action each Gamecock defeated their opponents in straight sets. Connor Thomson and Casey Hoole shutout Furman’s Cole Burnam and Connor Laymon 6-0 in doubles for the first match of the day. Freshman duo Gabe Avram and Cole Henceroth picked up the second doubles shutout of the day against The Citadel, winning 6-0.
- The Gamecocks hosted No. 5 Virginia the following week, ultimately falling 2-5 to the Cavaliers. Thomson and Lucas da Silva put up South Carolina’s two points after each earning singles wins. Thomson defeated Rafael Jodar in straight sets of 6-4, 6-4 while da Silva grabbed a ranked win, topping No. 86 Mans Dahlberg in a three-set comeback 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
- Two Gamecocks, Sean Daryabeigi (No. 55) and Jelani Sarr (No. 77), earned ITA Singles Rankings in the final fall edition of the list. Atakan Karahan and Sarr were ranked No. 85 for doubles.
- South Carolina ranks No. 16 in the latest edition of the ITA Top 25 Coaches Poll, released on Jan. 22.
Scouting the Opponent
- No. 15 San Diego is undefeated in dual matches so far this season with a 2-0 record which includes a ranked win over No. 20 UCLA.
- The Toreros opened 2025 with a dominant 5-2 win over Oklahoma State at home on Jan. 18. San Diego rolled the momentum to the following week, defeating UCLA 4-3 on the road in comeback fashion after being down 1-3.
- Oliver Tarvet represented the team in singles and paired up with Stian Klaassen for doubles at the NCAA Individual Championship during the 2024 fall season. Tarvert fell in the first round of 64 in singles but the two advanced to the round of 16 for doubles play.
- San Diego has seven combined singles and doubles rankings in the ITA final fall list. Tarvet (No. 15), Savriyan Danilov (No. 29) and Klaassen (71) represent the Toreros in singles. Tarvet and Klaasen will pose the biggest threat to the Gamecocks No. 1 doubles position as the two rank No. 1 in the country. Iiro Vasa and Klaassen are No. 39. Blake Kasday and Adrien Berrut rank 72 while Vasa and Danilov sit at 88th.
- In the newest edition of the ITA Top 25 Coaches poll released on Jan. 22, the Toreros moved up one spot to No.15.
Series History
- San Diego leads South Carolina 4-3 in the all-time series history record.
- The Toreros have won the last two consecutive matches.
- The Gamecocks last faced the Toreros on Feb. 20, 2016.
Follow Along
- The match will be live streamed via TrackTennis. Live stats can be viewed on StatBroadcast.
For the latest South Carolina men’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).