Gamecock Tennis Remains Undefeated

COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) – South Carolina men’s tennis defeated NC State 6-1 Friday at the Carolina Tennis Center to improve to 8-0 on the season, their best start in dual play since 2004. The Gamecocks claimed the doubles point to take an early lead and stay perfect in doubles play on the season. The bottom of the singles lineup gave the Gamecocks a 3-0 lead, with junior Gabriel Friedrich clinching the match in No. 1 spot in straight sets over a ranked opponent. South Carolina will travel to Atlanta, Ga. to face their first ranked opponent of the season, No. 22 Georgia Tech Sunday, Feb. 19 at 12 p.m.

The Gamecocks took the early lead with a pair of doubles wins. In the No. 2 spot, Yancy Dennis and Harrison O’Keefe got ahead with a 2-0 lead, then battled it out to total a 6-4 win over Michael Ogden and Ivan Saveljic and give South Carolina the edge in the battle for the doubles points. Alex Fennell and Sam Swank fell to the NC State duo of Nick Horton and Alexis Galarneau 6-4. The No. 3 pair of Paul Jubb and Friedrich battled early on, but found their rhythm to take three consecutive points and claim a 6-3 victory over Georgiy Malyshev and Igor Saveljic.

In singles play, South Carolina dominated in the bottom half of the lineup taking 6-3 wins on courts four, five and six. Fennell was the first to deliver his point, topping Sean Burnette 6-3, 6-3 on court six. Andrew Schafer followed suit shortly after with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Malyshev on court four.

Friedrich (121) clinched the match for the Gamecocks in a straight-set victory over Galarneau (67). The 6-4, 6-1 victory is his second straight win over a ranked opponent, after he defeated Adam Moundir (18) last Friday. The win stretches his win-streak to 6-0 in dual play.

The Gamecocks played out the rest of the singles matches. Dennis contributed next with a 6-3, 6-3 win on court four to increase the Gamecock lead to 5-0. O’Keefe stayed perfect defeating his opponent in a three-set 7-6(3), 3-6, 1-0(8) win to improve to 8-0 in dual-match singles wins. Thomas Mayronne fell 5-7, 3-6 on court three, to make a 6-1 final score.

QUOTING COACH JOSH GOFFI:
“It was great to see such a convincing win against a team we’ve always had 4-3 battles with and really been on the losing end of the match in the past few years. It shows how far our team has come and really the confidence we’re playing with heading into the last of our non-conference schedule. The guys are really focusing on their games and they’re getting better every single day. We’re going to continue to focus on the basics and fundamentals moving forward like we always do and see what we can do with Georgia Tech on Sunday.”

QUICK HITS: NO. 22 GEORGIA TECH
–       Georgia Tech is 4-2 in dual play, coming off a 4-3 road-win over Auburn.
–       The Jackets are ranked No. 22 nationally, up from No. 24 the previous week.
–       The team is made up of two freshmen, two sophomores, four juniors and two seniors.
–       Two Jackets are ranked nationally in singles, Christopher Eubanks (4) and Andrew Li (52).
–       Head coach Kenny Thorne is in his 19th season at Georgia Tech.

RESULTS: NC State
SINGLES
1. #121 Gabriel Friedrich (SC) def. #68 Alexis Galarneau (NCSU) 6-4, 6-1
2. Harrison O’Keefe (SC) def. Igor Saveljic (NCSU) 7-6(3), 3-6, 10-8
3. #68 Nick Horton (NCSU) def. #107 Thomas Mayronne (SC) 7-5, 6-3
4. #110 Yancy Dennis (SC) def. Michael Ogden (NCSU) 6-3 6-3
5. Andrew Schafer (SC) def. Georgiy Malyshev (NCSU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Alex Fennell (SC) def. Sean Burnette (NCSU) 6-3, 6-1
DOUBLES
1. Alexis Galarnea/Nick Horton (NCSU) def. Sam Swank/Alex Fennell (SC) 6-3
2. Yancy Dennis/Harrison O’Keefe (SC) def.  Michael Ogden/Ivan Saveljic (NCSU) 6-4
3. Paul Jubb/Gabriel Friedrich (SC) def. Georgiy Malyshev/Igor Saveljic (NCSU) 6-3

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks will travel to Atlanta, Ga. to face their first ranked opponent, No. 22 Georgia Tech Sunday, Feb. 19 at noon before the team travels to Montgomery, Ala. For the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic.