Gamecocks Drop Match to No. 9 LSU
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 13 South Carolina men’s tennis (13-6, 6-5 SEC) fell 4-1 to No. 7 LSU (22-5, 8-4 SEC) on Thursday afternoon. The Gamecocks felt the loss of their top singles and doubles player, Lucas da Silva, who usually plays from the top of the lineup for both.
South Carolina dropped the first match on court three, 6-2, to put LSU within one point of clinching the doubles point. The remaining two matches were close as Paul Barbier Gazeu and Atakan Karahan were tied at 4-4 on court two, playing together for the first time as a pair. No. 90 Sean Daryabeigi and Max Stenzer were knotted up at 4-4 on court one as well, taking on LSU’s No. 17 ranked duo.
Gazeu and Karahan leveled the score with a 7-5 win, making the matchup from the top of the lineup the deciding point. Daryabeigi and Stenzer fought back from a 6-5 deficit to force a tie break at 6-6. The two defeated Sasa Markovic and Andrej Loncarevic 7-5 in the tie break to complete the upset and clinch the doubles point for the Gamecocks.
Singles started off with Gabe Avram and Stenzer each winning their opening sets, both winning 7-6 following tie breaks. The match took a turn with the Tigers taking straight set victories across courts five, two and four to claim the lead and get within one point of clinching the match. The remaining courts consisted of Gazeu, Stenzer and Avram heading into third sets.
Things started trending up for the Gamecocks, with the remaining courts poised to win their third sets. Avram and Gazeu were trading points with their opponents, while Stenzer reached match point against No. 104 Loncarevic on court three, leading 5-4. Ultimately, Stenzer couldn’t complete the upset and fell 7-5 as the Tigers clinched the 4-1 win.
The Gamecocks host No. 19 Vanderbilt on Saturday, April 4 at 4:00 p.m. for their regular season home finale.
For the latest South Carolina men’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
No. 7 LSU 4, No. 13 South Carolina 1
DOUBLES (order of finish: 3,2,1)
- No. 90 Sean Daryabeigi/Max Stenzer (USC) def. No. 17 Sasa Markovic/Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) 7-6 (7-5)
- Paul Barbier Gazeu/Atakan Karahan (USC) def. Matias Ponce De Leon/Erik Arutiunian (LSU) 7-5
- Enzo Kohlman/Olaf Pieczkowski (LSU) def. Charlie Swaine/Gabe Avram (USC) 6-2
SINGLES (order of finish: 5,2,4,3)
- No. 42 Olaf Pieczkowski (LSU) led No. 105 Paul Barbier Gazeu (USC) 6-4, 5-7, 4-3
- No. 27 Erik Arutiunian (LSU) def. No. 56 Sean Daryabeigi (USC) 6-3, 6-4
- No. 104 Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) def. Max Stenzer (USC) 6-7 (5-7), 6-0, 7-5
- Matias Ponce De Leon (LSU) def. Atakan Karahan (USC) 6-4, 6-4
- Enzo Kohlman (LSU) def. Charlie Swaine (USC) 6-3, 6-0
- Gabe Avram (USC) led Rudy Ceccon (LSU) 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 2-1
