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Daryabeigi Clinches Win as Gamecocks Advance to SEC Semis
Men's Tennis  . 

Daryabeigi Clinches Win as Gamecocks Advance to SEC Semis

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 13 South Carolina men’s tennis team began the 2025 SEC Championship in the quarterfinals on Friday night against sixth seed Florida, booking a spot to the semifinals for the fifth time in program history after defeating the Gators 4-1.

The Garnet & Black kicked things off with a strong start in doubles, setting the tone after earning an early edge. All three courts took control early, as No. 1 and 3 positions led by 4-0 while No. 2 was up 4-1 20 minutes into play.

No. 50 Atakan Karahan and Jelani Sarr struck first with a 6-2 win not long before No. 3 Connor Thomson and Lucas da Silva mirrored their performance with another 6-2 victory to secure the first point of the match.

The Gamecocks continued to build on their lead during singles action, picking up first set wins across five courts. Sarr added a point to the board with a dominant 6-2, 6-3 performance, wrapping up on an ace.

The Gators began to close in on the lead, grabbing a win on court 4 as Henry Jefferson defeated Karahan 7-6(6), 6-2. Gabe Avram retaliated with another straight set win for the Gamecocks, earning his 10th win of the dual match season in a 6-4, 6-4 showing to get South Carolina one match away from a win.

Florida continued to apply pressure, attempting to flip the script by sending the remaining three matches to third sets. Neither side held a clear advantage as each decider set was in a tightly contested battle. It was ultimately Sean Daryabeigi who delivered the match-winning clinch, completing a three-set comeback 7-6(5), 0-6, 6-4 to seal the deal.

The Gamecocks continue their SEC run tomorrow on Sat., April 19 at 3:00 p.m., facing second seed Mississippi State in the semifinals. The match will be streamed on SEC Network+ with live stats available on Stat Broadcast and IonCourt.

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

(13) South Carolina 4, (32) Florida 1

Doubles (order of finish: 2,1)

  1. #3 Lucas da Silva/Connor Thomson (SC) def. #12 Tanapatt Nirundorn/Henrey Jefferson (UF) 6-2
  2. #50 Jelani Sarr/Atakan Karahan (SC) def. Adhithya Ganesan/Jeremy Jin (UF) 6-2
  3. Sean Daryabeigi/Max Stenzer (SC) vs. Kevin Edengren/Ben Weintraub (UF) 4-4, unfinished

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

  1. #20 Connor Thomson (SC) vs #47 Adhithya Ganesan (UF) 6-4, 2-6, 4-5, unfinished
  2. Lucas da Silva (SC) vs. #70 Jeremy Jin (UF) 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 4-4, unfinished
  3. #119 Sean Daryabeigi (SC) def. #124 JanMagnus Johnson (UF) 7-6 (7-5), 0-6, 6-4
  4. Henry Jefferson (UF) def. Atakan Karahan (SC) 7-6 (8-6), 6-2
  5. Jelani Sarr (SC) def. Tanapatt Nirundorn (UF) 6-2, 6-3
  6. Gabe Avram (SC) def. Ben Weintraub (UF) 6-4, 6-4

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