Both men's and women's tennis competed over the weekend, but acquired separate results.
South Carolina women’s tennis impressed as they opened the season by winning four straight matches in Albuquerque.
The No. 23 women’s team went 4-0 to open their season this weekend, defeating Grand Canyon, Northern Arizona, Kansas and New Mexico in impressive fashion.
The women only conceded four points all weekend behind strong showings from No. 120 senior Elixane Lechemia and sophomore Brigit Folland, respectively.
No. 99 senior Meghan Blevins left after the second set Saturday against Kansas, but her absence did not seem to slow the team’s momentum Sunday.
Lechemia had a strong end to her impressive weekend by easily disposing of the No. 75 player in the country in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. She started in the top singles spot all weekend and did not disappoint.
The women have the week to prepare before a brutal weekend. The team will travel to Charlottesville for a match Friday evening against No. 5 Virginia, then head back down to Clemson for a Sunday afternoon match against the No. 14 ranked Tigers.
On the other hand, the men’s team looked strong Saturday, but came up just short in the championship match Sunday.
The Gamecock men’s tennis team was riding a 2-0 start to their season when they got to Gainesville for ITA Kickoff Weekend.
The tournament featured a stacked field consisting of No. 13 Florida, No. 31 Stanford, No. 32 Ole Miss and the No. 27 ranked Gamecocks.
The Gamecocks kept the ball rolling against Stanford as they won 4-1. The Gamecocks got behind in doubles, losing from the No. 1 spot for the first time this year.
However, sophomore Andrew Schafer and senior Andrew Adams won 6-3, and the No. 46 ranked team of freshman Harrison O’Keefe and freshman Thomas Mayronne came back to win from the second slot, 7-5.
No. 71 senior Thiago Pinheiro struggled to break serve against the No. 25 national player from the 1 spot, losing in straight sets.
However, Adams, No. 83 Schafer, and O’Keefe won in straight sets from their usual spots, respectively.
Following a comeback victory over the Gators on Saturday, the Ole Miss Rebels came into the championship match on Sunday hot.
The Gamecocks roared out to the lead following another doubles win and looked to be well on their way to victory. Four of six Gamecocks won their first set. However, for the second straight day, the Rebels stormed back.
Ultimately, only O’Keefe won his singles match as the Gamecocks fell, 4-2.
Head coach Josh Goffi wasn’t disappointed though with the efforts and playing ability.
“I couldn’t be more proud of my team this weekend,” Goffi said. “We brought it the way we wanted to, which put us in a position to win the match. Unfortunately, we stumbled a little at that point, but it’s early in the year, and there will be many more battles like this one where the finish line is only steps away. We’ll make adjustments.”
The Gamecocks will face No. 22 Clemson at home on Saturday at 3 pm.