Men's Tennis . March 1, 2025

Gamecocks Face Kentucky for SEC Road Opener

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 47 South Carolina men’s tennis team continues conference play this weekend, facing its third consecutive ranked opponent. The Gamecocks take on No. 31 Kentucky on the road Sun., March 2 at 1:00 p.m.

Gamecock Notables

The Gamecocks opened SEC play last week with two upset wins after hosting a then-No. 19 Alabama and then-No.35 Auburn while they were unranked.
Connor Thomson and Lucas da Silva paired up and took down ranked opponents to clinch the doubles point during both matches.
Against the Crimson Tide, Thomson and da Silva defeated the No. 41 duo 6-4 following a 6-2 win from Casey Hoole and Sean Daryabeigi to give the Garnet & Black an early lead. Alabama started off strong in singles action, picking up first set wins across four courts. Thomson (6-0) and Daryabeigi (6-1) were the two Gamecocks who took their first sets. Thomson was the lone Gamecock to win his match in straight sets after a 7-5 showing for his second to extend South Carolina’s lead to 2-0. The Crimson Tide earned their only point of the match next as No. 23 topped Casey Hoole 6-1, 6-3. Daryabeigi (6-1, 3-6, 6-1) responded for the Gamecocks by defeating his opponent in a three-set comeback while da Silva (4-6, 6-2, 6-4) delivered the clinch in a similar showing to secure South Carolina’s 4-1 win over Alabama.
In the match against Auburn, Jelani Sarr and Atakan Karahan struck first with a 6-4 win from the No. 2 position while Thomson and da Silva clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 victory over the No. 9 pair in the NCAA. Gabe Avram commanded a dominant 6-3, 6-1 win before Daryabeigi (6-3, 6-2) extended the lead to 3-0. Thomson officially clinched the match at 4-0 with a 6-3, 6-3 win from court 3 while Karahan followed seconds later with a 6-2, 6-4 victory. The Tigers’ lone point came from No. 112 Alex Frusina who defeated da Silva 6-3, 6-4 despite multiple significant comeback attempts from the Gamecock. Hoole sealed the 6-1 score following a dramatic three set comeback in the super tiebreak with a 10-6 win.
Following his performances Thomson was named SEC Player of the Week, his first of the season and second of his collegiate career. The graduate student goes into Sunday’s match undefeated in singles and doubles in conference play.
Avram is currently undefeated in singles matches with a 6-0 record from the No. 4 and 6 positions. Daryabeigi is 8-2 from No. 2-4. Both Gamecocks have a perfect record in SEC play.
The Gamecocks earned their first team ranking of conference play, sitting at No. 47 in the latest ITA release. Daryabeigi is tabbed at No. 68 in singles while Thomson is No. 110.

Scouting the Wildcats

Kentucky is 8-4 thus far in the dual match season with a 1-1 conference record.
The Wildcats are coming off of a 1-6 loss to No. 37 Florida on the road this past Friday. The team clinched the doubles point with a 6-0 shutout victory from Jack Loutit and Eli Stephenson in the No. 1 position but was unable to follow through on the early momentum.
Loutit is undefeated in singles with an 8-0 record across positions 2-4.
The Wildcats have four ranked singles players. Jaden Weeks is No. 66 followed by Antoine Ghibaudo (No. 69), Loutit (No. 81) and Charelie Cosnet (No. 121).

Series History

Kentucky leads the all-time series record between the two programs 30-17.
The Gamecocks have lost the last two consecutive matches against the Wildcats.
The last time the two faced each other was at final round of the 2024 SEC Championship when the Wildcats claimed the conference title for the second consecutive season with a 4-2 victory.

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