South Carolina Mens Tennis

W

winchestervatennis

Hall of Fame
I just moved to Columbia and went to my first match yesterday watching the men face Old Dominion (my former state). Very quality match. SC raced to a big lead up 3-1 with 2,3,&4 singles still on. 2 and 4 singles were down a break early in the third and 3 had lost the first set headed to a TB. O'Keefe pulled out a really big win at 2 before the other courts could finish. A really fun match to watch in an excellent venue.

Go Cocks!
 
Nacho

Nacho

Hall of Fame
winchestervatennis said:
I just moved to Columbia and went to my first match yesterday watching the men face Old Dominion (my former state). Very quality match. SC raced to a big lead up 3-1 with 2,3,&4 singles still on. 2 and 4 singles were down a break early in the third and 3 had lost the first set headed to a TB. O'Keefe pulled out a really big win at 2 before the other courts could finish. A really fun match to watch in an excellent venue.

Go Cocks!
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Like the school, great facilities....Middle of the pack team in the SEC...They will fall behind Florida, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, and Ole Miss....But well worth going to watch the matches, and ODU is an underrated team so thats a good win
 
C

Clemson_tennis

Legend
Pretty good team the year. Tough loss to Rice but overall its been a good start so far. Mayronne is looking like the weak link early as he has lost most matches this year so far. Everyone else has been trading wins and losses. Solid team throughout.
 
Nacho

Nacho

Hall of Fame
A success so far....If they can pull off a win agains Miss St, UKY, or UGA then that would be pretty awesome....They traditionally do well to start and then fizzle out...
 
T

therecanbeonlyone

Semi-Pro
last year was the opposite though. They finished pretty strong last year with a young team that had no seniors. Assuming everyone stays healthy, i do not expect a fizzle this year.
 
C

Clemson_tennis

Legend
They are a much more clutch team this year than they have been in the past. The last few seasons they have been losing all the tight 4-3 matches to Kentucky, Miss State, Ole Miss, Arkansas etc. But this year they turned it around and have won all those tight matches with teams like that.
 
T

therecanbeonlyone

Semi-Pro
They went from having no seniors on the roster last year, while also having a blue chip freshman (or 5 star, can't remember) riding the pine...to having 3 seniors and that blue chip sophomore playing really well at #1 dubs and #4 singles. I had a feeling after the way they finished last year, that they would be fairly strong this year.
 
O

optimaltennis

Semi-Pro
mikej said:
eh, that’s a little much

or, alternatively, cements Goffi’s legacy if you’re right
Click to expand...

Agreed, it is probably more than a little much. If Rodrigues would have came back for his 5th year, then I would say they have a great shot. Thomson and Samuel are as good as anybody at 1 and 2, but to win a natty, got to be so solid down low and I'm not sure if I see that for SC.
 
A

andfor

Legend
optimaltennis said:
Agreed, it is probably more than a little much. If Rodrigues would have came back for his 5th year, then I would say they have a great shot. Thomson and Samuel are as good as anybody at 1 and 2, but to win a natty, got to be so solid down low and I'm not sure if I see that for SC.
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They are also pretty strong at 3 and 4. Not sure how their 5 and 6 line up. SC's top 4 on a good day can hang with anyone.
 
C

collegetennisisthebest

Semi-Pro
andfor said:
Didn't hurt them today. In fact I'd argue regardless of his single place today he helped by staying competitive only being down 7-6, and picked up a doubles win.
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he did surprisingly well against an excellent player in JJ Tracy
Lambling might have been sick or injured...when they played Georgia Tech
Jake Beasley lost 2 and 1 to Georgia's Miguel Perez Pena at the indoors. Beasley came up huge last Friday with a clutch win over Kentucky's Cosnet. I did not expect Beasley to dominate an experienced Ohio State player today.
S. Carolina had a huge road win last week at Kentucky.
They face Georgia, Tennessee, Auburn and Florida on their home courts.
Mississippi State and Texas A&M are probably their toughest SEC road tests.

 
C

Clemson_tennis

Legend
Overall an impressive dominating win for South Carolina today. I was more unimpressed with Ohio State though overall.

After taking doubles with a nice one break battle between the #1 and #2 doubles teams in the nation, The Gamecocks surged to leads on five of the six courts and you started to think "is Ohio State about to get blown out?".

OSU started to make a slight push back late in the first sets but two key moments really stopped any chance of a comeback. Boulais blew a 40-0 lead while serving at 4-5 in the first and ended it with two consecutive double faults to lose the set 4-6. Shortly after that on court 4, Bernard dumped an easy sitter volley into the net at 40-40 5-6 to lose his set 5-7. Those two moments of fragility when trying to mount a comeback ended it in it's early stages and the Gamecocks rolled from there.
 
C

collegetennisisthebest

Semi-Pro
How did they dominate Ohio State? SC has looked awful in last 2 matches. I know that James Story did not play yesterday. However, Toby Samuel should not have lost to Tyler Stice. Rafael Lambling is really struggling at 3.
 
A

andfor

Legend
collegetennisisthebest said:
How did they dominate Ohio State? SC has looked awful in last 2 matches. I know that James Story did not play yesterday. However, Toby Samuel should not have lost to Tyler Stice. Rafael Lambling is really struggling at 3.
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Good question. Without insider info or even better a statement from the coach, I always first guess injury. Maybe could have been how SC dominated OSU, and on the filp side how they hit a rough patch of late. On a positive note, SC is 16-3. This weekend will be interesting.
 
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J

jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
collegetennisisthebest said:
How did they dominate Ohio State? SC has looked awful in last 2 matches. I know that James Story did not play yesterday. However, Toby Samuel should not have lost to Tyler Stice. Rafael Lambling is really struggling at 3.
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Auburn beat South Carolina last year at SEC conference. I believe Stice was the clinch beating Daniel Rodriguez. Exciting match-watched it live. Tyler beat Ben Shelton in April 22. Now he hasnt had the best spring but this win shows he can play tough when it really matters. Auburn can be dangerous-appears the challenge of playing top SEC teams brings out their best tennis. Now they have some losses that make you wonder. The good news about the parity in the SEC-that there are a bunch of teams that could possibly beat any other team in a given day means that there should be a lot of SEC host sites in the early rounds of NCAA. Good chance of 6-7 hosts and 10 teams in the NCAAs.
 
C

Clemson_tennis

Legend
Gamecocks truly scuffling now. Got beat pretty handily at home by UGA and Tennessee. Both of whom are playing really well right now but still, those wins were too comfy for facing a top 10 team on the road.

They could very well lose to A&M and Florida as well to end the season, which would make them 6-6 in the SEC.
 
C

collegetennisisthebest

Semi-Pro
Lambling did not play yesterday. SC has really struggled this year at 5 and 6. When their 5 and 6 have to move up to 4 and 5, their chances are very poor. I was surprised that Thompson lost to Hudd.
 
C

Clemson_tennis

Legend
So I guess Samuel and Thomson aren’t coming back? I don’t think I’ve heard confirmation of either one of them either way, but neither are currently on the listed roster.

The Gamecocks currently only have 5 players on their roster and only 1 of them, Hoole, has had significant lineup career playing time.

I imagine that Goffi has some sort of plan though.
 
S

Sureshot

Hall of Fame
Clemson_tennis said:
So I guess Samuel and Thomson aren’t coming back? I don’t think I’ve heard confirmation of either one of them either way, but neither are currently on the listed roster.

The Gamecocks currently only have 5 players on their roster and only 1 of them, Hoole, has had significant lineup career playing time.

I imagine that Goffi has some sort of plan though.
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That’s news to me. Thought they were taking the fall off. Both impact players
 
C

Clemson_tennis

Legend
An article about their Wimbledon run in July on the South Carolina website says they are both “rising seniors”. So that would indicate they plan to come back (as of July).

Just odd to remove them from the roster on the website unless they are planning a dramatic comeback announcement or something.
 
A

andfor

Legend
Clemson_tennis said:
An article about their Wimbledon run in July on the South Carolina website says they are both “rising seniors”. So that would indicate they plan to come back (as of July).

Just odd to remove them from the roster on the website unless they are planning a dramatic comeback announcement or something.
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James Story is also missing from the roster. I think he played 4 singles and 2 dubs, thought he had another year. I don't have a dog in the hunt, but would be fun to see them back for one final run in the spring.
 
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A

andfor

Legend
Clemson_tennis said:
An article about their Wimbledon run in July on the South Carolina website says they are both “rising seniors”. So that would indicate they plan to come back (as of July).

Just odd to remove them from the roster on the website unless they are planning a dramatic comeback announcement or something.
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Just noticed all 3 senior Brits are back on the roster, Samual, Thompson and Story.
 
G

Gemini

Hall of Fame
andfor said:
Just noticed all 3 senior Brits are back on the roster, Samual, Thompson and Story.
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There's got to be something unusual going on with the roster page. The photos of Samuel, Thomson and Story are all last year's photos. Everyone else is wearing the black UA shirts. I guess it could be a case of the three missing the picture day because they weren't enrolled at the time.

Also, Samuel was listed as a junior during the 22-23 season but the 23-24 roster has him as sophomore?? Not sure how that happens. Web editor not keeping up with the little details.
 
A

andfor

Legend
Gemini said:
There's got to be something unusual going on with the roster page. The photos of Samuel, Thomson and Story are all last year's photos. Everyone else is wearing the black UA shirts. I guess it could be a case of the three missing the picture day because they weren't enrolled at the time.

Also, Samuel was listed as a junior during the 22-23 season but the 23-24 roster has him as sophomore?? Not sure how that happens. Web editor not keeping up with the little details.
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Think you're correct about the use of old photos. Got to guess the classification listing is due to Covid extra year confusion HAHA, and will get updated sometime over the next few weeks.
 
W

Wild Card

Rookie
ITA website - Samuel is taking this semester off from college tennis to try his hand at the pro level, but plans on returning to Columbia ( typo?, sure they mean SC) in January to complete his eligibility and graduate with a Sports Management degree in May. One goal in particular sticks out in Samuel’s mind when thinking about his final semester at South Carolina. Not sure about the other guys.

wearecollegetennis.com

'Gazelle On The Court': Toby Samuel's Accelerated Path To ATP Challenger Tour

Briton Toby Samuel checks all the boxes and if the 21-year-old can race up the Pepperstone ATP Rankings as fast as he moves around the court, he will be the next college player to find success at the highest level.
wearecollegetennis.com wearecollegetennis.com
 
C

Clemson_tennis

Legend
Looks like they are all coming back. Which explains why they are #5 in the ITA preseason poll. They would be lower if one of them wasn't coming back. On paper they could be an even stronger team than last season as the new guys could be better depth players.
 
C

ClarkC

Hall of Fame
Wild Card said:
ITA website - Samuel is taking this semester off from college tennis to try his hand at the pro level, but plans on returning to Columbia ( typo?, sure they mean SC) in January to complete his eligibility and graduate with a Sports Management degree in May. One goal in particular sticks out in Samuel’s mind when thinking about his final semester at South Carolina. Not sure about the other guys.

wearecollegetennis.com

'Gazelle On The Court': Toby Samuel's Accelerated Path To ATP Challenger Tour

Briton Toby Samuel checks all the boxes and if the 21-year-old can race up the Pepperstone ATP Rankings as fast as he moves around the court, he will be the next college player to find success at the highest level.
wearecollegetennis.com wearecollegetennis.com
Click to expand...
"Columbia" is not a typo. That is the city in South Carolina where the University of South Carolina is located.
 
S

Sureshot

Hall of Fame
Great away win for the Gamecocks after surrendering dubs. Samuel over Rodesch. And a clutch clinch on Ct 5 by the frosh Daryabeigi despite cramping. They'll obviously be stronger w/ Thomsom in the lineup. But the Cavaliers continue w/o Montes who is indispensable
 
C

Clemson_tennis

Legend
Gamecocks win anyway without Thompson at Virginia. Pretty strong statement. Shows that this year's team is not as overly top heavy and is probably better than last year's team. Da Silva and Hoole seem much improved and the freshmen look good.
 
C

collegetennisisthebest

Semi-Pro
Gamecocks also won without James Story .......in the singles lineup.
Story was playing 3 for them for most of the last portion of the year. I was very surprised to see Hoole defeat Dietrich. Dietrich is really, really good and went toe to toe with Gilles Bailly last Thursday in Austin.

And of course, Toby Samuel and Connor Thomson are a great doubles team so they were not competitive today in doubles.
Winning 4 singles....while missing 2 of their top 3 returning players ...is outstanding....

Kiefer had a great clutch win for the Cavaliers over Texas. Great clutch win at 5 for the freshman to beat Kiefer. When they get Thomson and Story back, is Daryabeigi their #7 player. De Silva barely played for them last year. Tremendous win for him over Graziani.

Rodesch really had an easy match on Thursday when he beat Spizziri. Tremendous win for Toby Samuel .......over Rodesch on the road.

of course, last year, SC....destroyed Ohio State.....and then faded down the stretch. I really admire Josh Goffi.....I hope that SC can stay strong all year.
 
A

andfor

Legend
collegetennisisthebest said:
Gamecocks also won without James Story .......in the singles lineup.
Story was playing 3 for them for most of the last portion of the year. I was very surprised to see Hoole defeat Dietrich. Dietrich is really, really good and went toe to toe with Gilles Bailly last Thursday in Austin.

And of course, Toby Samuel and Connor Thomson are a great doubles team so they were not competitive today in doubles.
Winning 4 singles....while missing 2 of their top 3 returning players ...is outstanding....

Kiefer had a great clutch win for the Cavaliers over Texas. Great clutch win at 5 for the freshman to beat Kiefer. When they get Thomson and Story back, is Daryabeigi their #7 player. De Silva barely played for them last year. Tremendous win for him over Graziani.

Rodesch really had an easy match on Thursday when he beat Spizziri. Tremendous win for Toby Samuel .......over Rodesch on the road.

of course, last year, SC....destroyed Ohio State.....and then faded down the stretch. I really admire Josh Goffi.....I hope that SC can stay strong all year.
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It will be interesting to see how and when Thompson and Story return to singles. Not sure on Thompson, my wild guess is Story. is he will be eased back into singles over the next few weeks. We'll see. Regardless, USC appears to be at the least as good as ranked. Does this result put them in championship talks, or is it too early?
 
C

collegetennisisthebest

Semi-Pro
andfor said:
It will be interesting to see how and when Thompson and Story return to singles. Not sure on Thompson, my wild guess is Story. is he will be eased back into singles over the next few weeks. We'll see. Regardless, USC appears to be at the least as good as ranked. Does this result put them in championship talks, or is it too early?
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I sure hope that Thomson and Story...can get back to health soon. SC only has 8 guys on their roster.

SC has a home match on Feb. 8 against Wake Forest. If Boitan is eligible by then, Wake could test them a little.

SC also has their huge non conference road match on Feb. 11 at the Ty Tucker tennis center.
On Feb. 2, Virginia plays in Columbus.
On March 10, the Buckeyes play in Austin.

Credit to Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio State and Texas.....for all playing challenging non conference schedules
 
C

Clemson_tennis

Legend
So maybe the win over Virginia was a little bit of fools gold after the not so dominating win vs Clemson and now the loss vs NC State. They are definitely in for a battle vs Wake Forest coming up as well.

Doubles seems to be an issue, only winning the doubles point against LSU.

According to a Gamecock forum, Thompson was in crutches after doubles today and was scratched out of the singles lineup.
 
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C

Clemson_tennis

Legend
Great live streaming video quality on the indoor courts. But the scoreboard is always one point ahead of the video and you can’t hide it. Perpetual spoilers unless you physically cover the scoreboard in the corner with your hand.
 
C

Court_Gamecocks

Rookie
Very proud of how the boys finished the year. They could have quit and just packed it in for next year but they fought for every ball.

Virginia is nervous.
 
C

Clemson_tennis

Legend
I'm sure Goffi will always wonder what they could have done with Thompson included this season. I think I heard somewhere on one of the broadcasts that Thompson will redshirt and come back for another year. If that's the case, he can kind of play the Samuel role next year.

They only lose Samuel and Story and bring in pretty good freshmen, Gabriel Avram, Max Stenzer and Atakan Karahan who should be the best of the lot. Sarr has big upside and could make a big improvement for next year. Rough look at next year.

1. Thompson
2. Hoole
3. Sarr
4. Karahan
5. Daryabeigi
6. Da Silva or Stenzer
 
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