Gamecocks Drop Match to Clemson on the Road

CLEMSON, S.C. – The No. 17 South Carolina men’s tennis team fell 0-7 to Clemson on the road on Friday afternoon. The Gamecocks picked up the first doubles match win but were unable to maintain the early momentum as the Tigers claimed doubles point and picked up singles wins on all six courts.

The Garnet & Black struck first as Jelani Sarr and Atakan Karahan defeated Max Damm and Viktor Markov 6-2 from the No. 2 position after dominantly winning the first five straight games. Clemson responded by securing the doubles point after courts 1 and 3 finished within seconds of each other, picking up wins.

The Gamecocks put forth a strong effort at the beginning of singles action, earning first set wins from Karahan (6-3) and Casey Hoole (6-1). Karahan and Hoole both dropped their second sets to force a third while Connor Thomson, Sean Daryabeigi and Lucas da Silva came back to win their second sets, similarly triggering a deciding set.

Clemson advanced to 2-0 from court 5 as Marko Mesarovic defeated Sarr 6-4, 6-1. Despite his solid first set win, Karahan dropped his match against Max Smith after losing 6-1 in the final set which had Clemson once point within officially clinching the match.

No. 118 Wissam Abderrahman ultimately delivered the clinch for the Tigers after defeating Hoole in a three set comeback from the No. 2 position.

Up Next

The Gamecocks return home next Fri., Feb. 14 to host UNCW for a 11:00 a.m. match.

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

(17) South Carolina 0, Clemson 7

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

1. #36 Noa Vukadin/Max Smith (CU) def. Lucas da Silva/Connor Thomson (SC) 6-4
2. Jelani Sarr/Atakan Karahan (SC) def. Max Damm/Viktor Markov (CU) 6-2
3. Wissam Abderraham/Romain Gales def. Casey Hoole/Sean Daryabeigi (SC) 6-3

Singles (order of finish: 5,6,2,3,4,1)

1. #51 Noa Vukadin (CU) def. Connor Thomson (SC) 7-5, 2-6, 6-1
2. #118 Wissam Abderrahman (CU) def. Casey Hoole 1-6, 6-4, 6-1
3. Viktor Markov (CU) def. Lucas da Silva (SC) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
4. Romain Gales (CU) def. #66 Sean Daryabeigi (SC) 7-5, 3-6, 6-2
5. Marko Mesarovic (CU) def. #105 Jelani Sarr (SC) 6-4, 6-1
6. Max Smith (CU) def. Atakan Karahan (SC) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1