Comeback Efforts Come Up Short as Men’s Tennis Drops to No. 7 Mississippi State

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 14 South Carolina men’s tennis overcame a 3-0 deficit against No. 7 Mississippi State on Friday evening at home but ultimately came up short, falling 4-3 to the Bulldogs.

Doubles play opened with a Gamecock win from the second spot in the lineup as No. 24 Sean Daryabeigi and Max Stenzer defeated the Bulldogs’ No. 72-ranked pair 6-3. Seconds later, Atakan Karahan and Charlie Swaine fell 6-3 on court six to No. 38 Bryan Hernadez Cortes and Ferrer Guimarares. It all came down to No. 10 Lucas da Silva and Paul Barbier Gazeu taking on No. 5 Petar Jovanovic and Benito Martinez from the top of the line up. The Gamecocks battled hard but Mississippi State ultimately took the doubles point with a 6-3 win from the No. 1 position. 

Singles started off shaky as the Gamecocks were down across five courts. Swaine was the lone Gamecock to take an early edge, leading his opponent 2-1 and later pushing to 3-1 before ultimately winning his opening set 6-3. Karahan and Gazeu followed suit, picking up first set wins to even out the field. The Bulldogs doubled their lead with a win on court two when No. 8 Petar Jovanovic defeated No. 40 Daryabiegi in straight sets. The Bulldogs then pushed their lead to within one of clinching, edging the Gamecocks 3-0, with another straight set win on court five. 

Gazeu provided South Carolina with its first point of the match, fighting through a second set tiebreak in a big upset victory over No. 39 Mario Martinez Serrano 6-4, 7-6 (4). At the top of the lineup da Silva pulled off a dominant comeback, struggling in his opening set with a 6-1 loss before bouncing back in 6-2, 6-1 showings to grab the Gamecocks’ second point of the match. With the win, the senior has won nine consecutive singles matches against eight ranked opponents.

From the bottom of the lineup, Swaine tied up the match 3-3 in a three set victory which left the deciding point to court four where Karahan was battling in a third set. Niccolo Baroni jumped to a 3-1 lead but Karahan managed to come within one before Baroni pushed his lead to 5-2. The sophomore battled to a deuce as the Bulldog was on the brink of a win but ultimately lost the point.

The Gamecocks remain home for their next match, facing No. 23 Ole Miss on Sunday, March 15 at 1:00 p.m.

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

No. 7 Mississippi State 4, No. 14 South Carolina 3

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

1. No. 5 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Martinez (MSU) def. No. 10 Lucas da Silva/Paul Barbier Gazeu (USC) 6-3
2. No. 24 Sean Daryabeigi/Max Stenzer (USC) def. No. 72 Mario Martinez Serrano/Michael Novansky (MSU) 6-3
3. No. 38 Bryan Hernadez Cortes/Ferrer Guimarares (MSU) def. Atakan Karahan/Charlie Swaine (USC) 6-3

SINGLES (order of finish: 2,5,3,1,6,4)

1. No. 16 Lucas da Silva (USC) def. No. 55 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 
2. No. 8 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. No. 40 Sean Daryabiegi (USC) 6-3, 6-3
3. No. 100 Paul Barbier Gazeu (USC) def. No. 39 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) 6-4, 7-6(4)
4. No. 125 Niccolo Baroni (MSU) def. Atakan Karahan (USC) 6-7, 6-1, 6-2
5. Raphael Vaksmann (MSU) def. Max Stenzer (USC) 6-2, 6-4
6. Charlie Swaine (USC) def. Roberto Guimaraes (MSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4