Men's Tennis . May 1, 2025

Gamecocks Begin NCAAs at Home Against VCU

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 13 South Carolina men’s tennis team opens the 2025 NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon on its home courts, facing VCU at the Carolina Tennis Center at 2:00 p.m.

Gates will open one hour prior to the first match of the day (11:00 a.m.). Please note that a clear bag policy is in effect. Head to the NCAA Columbia, SC Regional webpage for more information on the event.

Gamecock Notables

The Gamecocks are 19-7 overall this season which includes a program best 11-3 conference record. The Garnet & Black use home court advantage to the full extent as they are 14-2 in Columbia. For away matches South Carolina is 4-4.
South Carolina is coming off of its second consecutive SEC Championship appearance. The Gamecocks’ path to the title match included a takedown of Florida (4-1) and No. 12 Mississippi State (4-3) before they ultimately fell 4-1 to then-No. 4 Texas.
Three Gamecocks represent the Garnet & Black in the ITA rankings. Connor Thomson reached a season high standing of No. 18. The graduate student holds a 12-4 record from the No. 1-3 positions. Sean Daryabeigi sits at No. 112 with a 26-10 overall record. The sophomore is 11-3 in SEC play. Lucas da Silva rounds out the singles rankings at No. 124 with a 23-14 standing. He is 8-6 from the No. 2 position.
Thomson and da Silva are the No. 3 doubles duo in the nation with a 10-5 record from the top of the lineup. Jelani Sarr and Atakan Karahan are No. 53 with a 14-7 standing from primarily the No. 2 position.

NCAA Tournament History

The Gamecocks are making their 30th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and eighth consecutive trip under head coach Josh Goffi, who is leading the team into the tournament for the 11th time in his tenure.
South Carolina is 26-29 overall in NCAA Tournament appearances and has a 16-13 first round record.
The Garnet & Black are 8-2 in first-round matches under Goffi.
The teams’ best finish was a national semifinal appearance in 1989 when the Gamecocks fell to Stanford in Athens, Georgia.
South Carolina has advanced to the Round of 16 on 10 occasions, including five times since the tournament adopted the 64-team format. The Gamecocks have reached at least that stage in each of the past three seasons.
Last season, the No. 16 Gamecocks upset No. 14 NC State 4-3 in the second round to advance to the Super Regional. The season ended for the team with a 4-1 loss to No. 2 Virginia.

Scouting the Rams

VCU earned an automatic bid to the tournament after winning the A10 Championship for the eighth consecutive season, defeating Dayton 4-2.
The Rams are 13-11 overall on the season with a 3-1 conference record. For home matches they are 7-2 and away matches they hold a 3-7 standing.
The team’s No. 1 singles player, German Samofalov, holds a 24-12 overall record. Junior Alfred Almasi leads the team with a 22-6 overall record from positions 3-6.

Series History

The two programs have only met a handful of times, entering tomorrow’s match with an even 3-3 record.
VCU has won the last two matches.
This will be the first matchup in over 10 years as the last time the Gamecocks faced the Rams was in 2013 when they fell 5-2.

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