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Men’s Tennis Hosts Pair of Mississippi Schools to Continue SEC Play
Men's Tennis  . 

Men’s Tennis Hosts Pair of Mississippi Schools to Continue SEC Play

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 14 South Carolina men’s tennis team (10-3, 3-2 SEC) faces two Mississippi SEC foes this week at home, welcoming No. 7 Mississippi. State on Fri., March 13 at 5:00 p.m. before wrapping up the week with No. 23 Ole Miss on Sun., March 15 at 1:00 p.m.

The matches are slated to be held at the Carolina Outdoor Tennis Center, weather permitting. Fans can park in the pit, first come first serve. Metered spots around the facility are also available.

PROMOTIONS

Friday’s match against Mississippi State will have a military appreciation night theme. The first 50 fans in attendance will receive a themed block C button.

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

  • Last time out, the Gamecocks narrowly fell 4-3 to then-No. 18 Texas A&M at home last Sunday, taking its second loss of conference play. The Aggies clinched the doubles point to earn an early edge and although South Carolina was able to take a 3-2 lead following singles wins from Charlie Swaine, Lucas da Silva and Paul Barbier Gazeu, comeback efforts ultimately fell short.
  • With his 6-1, 6-4 victory over No. 64 Theo Papamalamis of Texas A&M, da Silva has won six consecutive singles matches all against ranked opponents. The senior has only faced ranked players from the top of the lineup in SEC play, remaining undefeated with an 8-0 record in conference play.
  • Other notable singles records from the Gamecocks include Gazeu (8-3), Swaine (7-3) and Daryabeigi (7-5).
  • Gazeu and da Silva were handed their first doubles loss of dual match season against the Aggies but hold a strong 8-1 record as a pair.
  • Mississippi State and Ole Miss will be South Carolina’s seventh and eighth consecutively ranked opponents. The Gamecocks have opened conference play against only top 30 ranked teams.

IN THE RANKINGS

  • In the latest release of the ITA team rankings announced earlier this week, the Gamecocks dropped slightly from No. 13 to No. 14.
  • Senior da Silva leads the team in singles rankings, sitting at No. 16 which is the highest ranking he has achieved in his collegiate career. Daryabeigi follows at No. 40 and Gazeu rounds out the Garnet & Black representation at No. 100.
  • In doubles, da Silva and Gazeu are ranked amongst the best in the nation at No. 10. Daryabeigi and Max Stenzer follow not too far behind at No. 24 while da Silva and Daryabeigi sit at No. 55.

WEEKLY AWARD WATCH

  • South Carolina has earned five SEC weekly awards so far this season from three different Gamecocks.
  • Da Silva was named Player of the Week twice, on Feb. 11 and Feb. 25.
  • Gazeu picked up two Freshman of the Week honors on Jan. 21 and Feb. 11.
  • Swaine shared a Freshman of the Week honor with Georgia’s Noah Johnson on Feb. 25.
  • The Gamecocks have swept the weekly awards twice this season.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

Mississippi State holds a 13-2 record with losses to then-No. 1 Virginia and then-No. 3 Texas. The Bulldogs face the Gamecocks riding a four-match win streak that includes three ranked defeats highlighted by a top 10 4-2 victory over then-No. 8 Georgia. Mario Martinez Serranoo leads the team with a 12-1 singles record from the third and fourth positions, undefeated against ranked players with three wins. Petar Jovanovic follows closely behind with a 11-3 record from the No. 2 position while the Bulldogs No. 1 player, Benito Sanchez Martinez, is 9-3 from the top of the lineup with a 4-3 record against ranked opponents. In the rankings, the team holds five tabs in singles, led by Jovanic who is No. 8. Serrano is No. 39 followed by Martinez at No. 55 and Bryan Hernandez Cortes at No. 92. Niccolo Baroni rounds it out at No. 25. In doubles, Martinez and Jovanovis headline the Bulldogs at No. 5 with a 6-6 record from the top of the lineup. The pair are 4-1 in conference play. Cortes and Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes are No. 38 while Michal Novansky and Serrano are No. 72.

SCOUTING THE REBELS

No. 23 Ole Miss is 14-3 this season, opening its season on a 12-match win streak before taking back-to-back losses from then-No. 16 Texas A&M and then-No. 18 Oklahoma. The Rebels other loss was to then-No. 7 LSU earlier this month where they narrowly fell 4-3 before bouncing back in a 4-3 victory over No. 11 Vanderbilt. Ole Miss faces No. 22 Florida before coming to Columbia. Noah Schlagenhauf is undefeated in dual matches with a 10-0 record from the No. 4-6 positions. Four other Rebels, M. Chambonniere (10-3), Vlado Jankanj (10-2), Banjamin Martin (10-2) and Pietro Pampanin (10-2) have also picked up ten singles wins during dual match season. Ole Miss has no players ranked in singles but Stefano D’agostino and Pampanin are No. 63 in doubles with a 6-6 record from the No. 2 position, taking down two ranked pairs.

SERIES HISTORY

  • Mississippi State leads the series record between the two programs 26-14 with eight of the Gamecocks’ wins happening in Columbia. South Carolina faced the Bulldogs twice last season, once in regular season where they fell 4-3. The Gamecocks redeemed themselves in the SEC Championship, defeating Mississippi State 4-3 in the semifinals to book their spot in the finals.
  • Ole Miss leads the series record 26-16 but the Gamecocks are on a six-match win streak against the Rebels, last sweeping them 4-0 on the road in 2025.

FOLLOW ALONG

Both matches will be streamed on TrackTennis with live scoring available on StatBroadcast. Links to each can be found on the schedule page. Fans can also follow along via in-match updates on X, @GamecockMTennis.

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

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