Men's tennis to face familiar foes in Appalachian State, Charlotte
"We know both coaches," assistant coach Matt Lucas said. "[The teams are] similar to the Elon team that came in and beat us. They're good teams. If we play well, we'll have a good shot to win. Both coaches are dear friends of mine.
"Actually, the Appalachian State coach was my coach growing up," Lucas continued. "I'm sure he'll have a little extra incentive to come here and take us out. It'll be a good test."
Injuries plagued the Gamecocks last weekend, as they were missing two top players in Harry Menzies and Nick Jones. But the team is determined not to make excuses for its performance.
"Nick was a big factor this last weekend, in that he wasn't in there," coach Josh Goffi said. "He's been playing No. 2 in singles, No. 1 in doubles. He was definitely missed. Our No. 1 player, Ivan Machado, has a banged-up foot. The injuries are there, but that's tennis. Every team that we play has the same injuries, and you have to play through those."
The Gamecocks lost to UC Irvine 6-1 Saturday before dropping their consolation match to William & Mary, 4-0, on Sunday. Sophomore Alexander Kostanov gave USC its lone point of the weekend when he defeated Steven Henderson in No. 2 singles.
"The scores weren't very telling of the match," Goffi said. "The guys did compete well; they competed better than they have. We're not getting the wins quite yet, and it's going to be tough to come by those this season. But as long as we're moving in the right direction, I'm happy as a coach.
"The boys showed a lot of fight this weekend," the USC coach said. "They started doing the things we've been asking them to do in practice. It's not going to be perfect right off the bat. It takes time, and coach Lucas and I are trying to be as patient as possible. The guys are competing. That's what we want."
There is no timeline for the return of Menzies and Jones, and the coaches are not certain where they will fit into the lineup when they are cleared to play. In the meantime, Machado, Kostanov and Chip Cox have established themselves as USC's top three singles players.
"The lineup [when injuries heal] will be a little tricky. But right now we have a good feeling of where people need to play," Goffi said. "That's definitely not the reason why we're not getting the wins. The guys are working a lot harder than they're used to. They're getting banged up pretty easily right now. We're trying to keep a hold on that."