Gamecocks start season 7-1 after loss to N.C. State
Last week was a tumultuous one for the South Carolina men’s tennis team, as they snuck out of Wake Forest with a nail-biting win on Thursday, but tasted defeat for the first time this season at N.C. State.
The two matches were the Gamecocks’ second and third out of four-straight road contests, and completed a three-match stretch against ranked ACC opponents.
On Thursday, the recently-declared No. 48 men’s team traveled to Winston-Salem, N.C. to take on the No. 42 Demon Deacons, a squad containing one of the top singles players in the country, Danny Kreyman. Coach Josh Goffi acknowledged Kreyman’s status before hitting the road, noting that he was one they’d have to watch on the court. South Carolina jumped ahead by winning the doubles point, with senior Ivan Machado and freshman Thiago Pinheiro teaming up to take down Kreyman and his doubles partner. But the team would face stiff competition on the singles courts.
Sophomore Nick Jones was slated to face off against Kreyman on court one. Though he put up a fight in the first set, Jones was no match for the country’s No. 115 singles player as he fell, 6-4, 6-0. Wake Forest in fact captured three of the first five singles matches, bringing the total score to a tie at three apiece.
The lone match left on the floor was between Thiago Pinheiro and opponent Alex Tsai. The two battled back and forth until they reached a third-set tiebreaker, where Pinheiro was ultimately able to pull off a heroic win for himself and his team, leading the Gamecocks to a 4-3 victory and a 7-0 record.
After a day off, the men were back in action on Saturday, as they remained in North Carolina but moved to Raleigh to face No. 51 N.C. State. Goffi expressed before leaving on the road trip that the Wolfpack would likely provide the toughest test for his young team at this point in the season. The coach knew what he was talking about.
Things got off on the wrong foot when the Gamecocks were swept in the doubles matches and failed to capture a doubles point for the first time this year. The singles portion only made things worse for South Carolina, as No. 100 singles player Austin Powell and his Wolfpack made things difficult for their visitors.
The lone bright spots for Goffi’s team came from reigning SEC Freshman of the Week Andrew Adams and teammate Kyle Koch. The two made quick work of their matchups and recorded the team’s only two points. After a disappointing performance, the men’s tennis team dropped its first match of the season, 5-2, and fell to a record of 7-1.
Although his team was defeated by a strong opponent, Goffi expressed earlier in the season that he has faith in his team’s talent and believes it can match up against — and beat — any team in the country. The Gamecocks will do their best to come out strong this Saturday, as they travel back to North Carolina to face No. 46 UNC Wilmington.