Men's to play at home, women on the road
With their SEC Tournaments on the horizon, the USC men's and women's tennis teams will each continue conference play with two matches this weekend. The men's team will host Vanderbilt and Kentucky on Friday and Sunday, respectively, while the women's team will travel to play the Commodores and Wildcats.
Both teams are coming off losses against Ole Miss. The men were swept 6-0 in a match that did not include doubles play. Alexander Kostanov was the only Gamecock to win a set, ultimately falling to the No. 102 player in the country, Tucker Vorster, by a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
"It was a great match from both players," men's coach Josh Goffi said. "Alexander has been working very hard, and he is starting to see his game come around. Last year, he played [No. 4 and No. 5 singles] and didn't win a match in the SEC. This year he has picked up a few wins and is competing at the No. 2 position with the best players in the country. It's fun to see him making some jumps in his game."
The women lost their match against the Rebels by a score of 4-1, snapping a streak of five consecutive victories. Junior Anya Morgina provided USC's lone point. Playing at the No. 1 position, she won her eighth singles match in a row, upsetting the No. 27 player in the nation, Kristi Boxx, in two sets.
Vanderbilt's men's team comes to Columbia after notching its first conference win of the season against Alabama on Sunday. However, the Commodores' struggles in the SEC are deceptive, and they will provide a formidable challenge for the Gamecocks.
"All teams are beatable, but Vanderbilt is going to be one of the tougher opponents we will play this year," Goffi said. "They are ranked 30 in the country, and deservingly so. Their SEC losses are to teams that are all top 30 in the country."
The Wildcats travel to Gainesville, Fla., to face the Gators today before arriving at USC. Their most recent match, a 4-1 loss to Auburn, snapped a winning streak of five, but only one of those victories was against a conference team.
"I expect the same thing from my guys [in the Kentucky match] that I do in every match," Goffi said. "As long as we compete against the guy across the net, we are going to be in a position to win. If not, we learn and move on."
As they round out the spring season, a major focus for the Gamecocks is the future of the program. USC's recruiting class is poised to help them improve their program in years to come.
"We have already nabbed a top-three recruiting class in the country. We have two blue chips, a five-star and a four-star joining our team next year," Goffi said. "[Assistant coach Matt Lucas] and I are looking forward to bringing in such an accomplished class that is in line with our culture here at South Carolina."