Thomson Leads Gamecocks to SEC Championship
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 13 South Carolina men’s tennis team faced No. 12 Mississippi State in the semifinals of the 2025 SEC Championship on Saturday afternoon and came out victorious, defeating the Bulldogs 4-3 in a comeback thriller after dropping the doubles point to book a trip to the championship round for the second time in program history.
Mississippi State came out swinging in doubles, picking up a dominant 6-2 win over Jelani Sarr and Atakan Karahan from the No. 2 position to set the tone.
Connor Thomson and Lucas da Silva kept their match tight, trading off games while Sean Daryabeigi and Max Stenzer were able to get to a 4-3 lead. The Bulldogs then seized control, winning the next three consecutive games to win 6-4 and clinch the doubles point before Thomson and da Silva could wrap up their match.
Things continued to look shaky going into singles action as only two Gamecocks, Daryabeigi and da Silva, were able to pick up first set wins. Mississippi State extended its lead to 2-0 with a 6-0, 6-3 win from Dusan Milanovic over Karahan from the No. 2 position.
After clinching last night’s win, Daryabeigi put the Gamecocks on the board with a dominant 6-0, 6-2 showing from the No. 3 position. South Carolina tied up the match at 2-all with another straight set win from da Silva who claimed the point in a 6-4, 6-3 showing. The Bulldogs regained their lead, moving to 3-2 as Bryan Cortes topped Gabe Avram in three sets. Avram battled back after falling 1-6 in his first to win his second 6-1, but was unable to follow through in the third as he lost 1-6.
The outcome of the match all came down to Thomson and Sarr who were both in tight third sets. Thomson had mounted a major comeback, dropping his first set 0-6 before bouncing back to defeat No. 29 Benito Sanchez Martinez 7-5 in the second. Sarr had also staged a comeback, falling 4-6 in his opening set before turning it around to win in a tiebreak 7-6(5) in the second.
The Bulldogs closed in on the win with No. 117 Mario Martinez Serrano who jumped to a 4-1 lead over Sarr from the No. 5 position. Sarr put up a fight, eventually narrowing the deficit to 5-all while Thomson struggled to hold a lead over Sanchez Martinez. The intensity then increased as both Gamecocks’ matches went to a tiebreak.
Sarr tied up the match at 3-all after pulling through to win the tiebreaker 7-6(3). Thomson fought through a tightly contested tiebreak, ultimately winning 7-6(5) to seal the deal and send the Gamecocks to the Championships.
South Carolina will take on No. 1 seeded Texas in the championship tomorrow, Sun. April 20 at 4:00 p.m. The Gamecocks are looking to win their first conference tournament title.
The Longhorns defeated No. 5 seeded Tennessee 4-2 earlier today to claim their spot in the championship match. Texas dropped the doubles point and the first singles match to sit at a 2-0 deficit. The Longhorns were able to rally back, taking wins from No. 2 Timo Legout, No. 22 Sebastian Eriksson, Jonah Braswell and Pierre-Yves Bailly. Legout clinched the match with a 6-3 third set win from the first position.
The two teams met once during the regular season on March 30 in Austin . Texas swept South Carolina 4-0 with wins from the first and third position in doubles, then finished off with straight set wins on courts 1, 3 and 6.
(13) South Carolina 4, (12) Mississippi State 3
Doubles (order of finish: 2,3)
- #2 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MS) led #3 Lucas da Silva/Connor Thomson 5-4, unfinished
- #59 Niccolo Baroni/Mario Martinez Serrano (MS) def. #50 Jelani Sarr/Atakan Karahan (SC) 6-2
- Michal Novansky/Dusan Milanovic (MS) def. Sean Daryabeigi/Max Stenzer (SC) 6-4
Singles (order of finish: 4,3,2,6,5,1)
- #20 Connor Thomson (SC) def. #29 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MS) 0-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)
- Lucas da Silva (SC) def. #61 Petar Jovanovic (MS) 6-4, 6-3
- #119 Sean Daryabeigi (SC) def. #94 Niccolo Baroni (MS) 6-0, 6-2
- Dusan Milanovic (MS) def. Atakan Karahan (SC) 6-0, 6-3
- Jelani Sarr (SC) def. #117 Mario Martinez Serrano (MS) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3)
- Bryan Cortes (MS) def. Gabe Avram (SC) 6-1, 1-6, 6-1
Records
South Carolina: 19-6 (overall), 11-3 (SEC)
Mississippi State: 22-5 (overall), 11-3 (SEC)
