Gamecocks Fall to Clemson in Opening Day of ITA Kickoff Weekend

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 14 South Carolina men’s tennis team fell 4-2 to Clemson on Thursday morning in its first match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Tigers took an early lead when they won the doubles point, then the two teams exchanged points until the match was decided on court one. 

Doubles opened shaky for the Gamecocks as the top two positions were down 0-3. Sean Daryabeigi and Max Stenzer fought hard but ultimately fell 6-3 from the No. 2 position to provide Clemson with an early lead. Lucas da Silva and Paul Barbier Gazeu overcame a 1-4 deficit, winning seven consecutive games to tie everything up 5-5 and ultimately win 7-5 to level things out.

It all came down to court five, where Atakan Karahan and Cole Henceroth were fighting from the No. 3 position. The pairs were locked in a back-and-forth battle where neither side could gain a lead of more than one point. At 6-6, the pairs went into a tiebreak where Clemson jumped to a 5-1 lead. The Gamecocks held on for a bit longer, cutting the lead to 5-4, but the Tigers closed out the match at 7-6 (4), winning the doubles point for Clemson.

The match remained close at the start of singles play, but Daryabeigi took down No. 21 Romain Gales with a 6-4, 6-2 win from the No. 2 position to level the score, 1-1. The Tigers regained the lead with a win on court four when Karahan dropped his match 6-3, 6-2 against Matisse Farzam. Charlie Swaine leveled the score at 2-2 with the team’s second-ranked takedown of the day, winning his match 6-4, 6-3 over No. 49 Edoardo Cherie Ligniere. The Tigers came within one point of clinching the match when Stenzer fell 6-4, 6-4 on court five. 

All attention moved to courts one and three, where No. 80 da Silva was fighting to send his match to a third set from the No. 1 position and Barbier Gazeu was moving into his third set from the No. 3 position. Da Silva traded points with Viktor Markov until the two reached 6-6. The tie break reached 5-5, but Markov won the tie break 7-5 to take the match 6-1, 7-6 (5) and leave Barbier Gazeu’s match unfinished. 

Clemson 4, (14) South Carolina 2

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

1. Lucas Da Silva/Paul Barbier Gazeu (SC) def. Romin Gales/Noa Vukadin (CU) 7-5
2. Viktor Markov/Henrik Bladelius (CU) def. No. 31 Sean Daryabeigi/Max Stenzer (SC) 6-3
3. Matisse Farzam/Yannic Nittmann (CU) def. Atakan Karahan/Cole Henceroth (SC) 7-6 (4)

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

1. Viktor Markov (CU) def. No. 80 Lucas Da Silva (SC) 6-1, 7-6 (5)
2. Sean Daryabeigi (SC) def. No. 21 Romin Gales (CU) 6-4, 6-2
3. No. 55 Paul Barbier Gazeu (SC) vs. Noa Vukadin (CU), 3-6, 6-4, unfinished
4. Matisse Farzam (CU) def. Atakan Karahan (SC) 6-3, 6-2
5. Marko Mesarovic (CU) def. No. 104 Max Stenzer (SC) 6-4, 6-4
6. Charlie Swaine (SC) def. No. 49 Edoardo Cherie Ligniere (CU) 6-4, 6-3