Gamecocks top Arkansas, fall to Louisiana State
The No. 38 South Carolina men’s tennis team defeated No. 41 Arkansas 4-1 Sunday afternoon at the Billingsley Tennis Center in Fayetteville, Ark., going 1-1 on the weekend.
The Gamecocks (15-9, 2-8 SEC) picked up wins in singles from Ivan Machado, Andrew Adams and Kyle Koch at the first, third and sixth positions, respectively. Machado defeated Arkansas’ Nikolas Zogaj 6-3, 6-2 at the top singles spot, then paired with Thiago Pinheiro for an 8-5 win at second doubles. South Carolina won two of the three doubles sets to earn the doubles point.
The Razorbacks’ only singles point came from Gregoire Lehmann, who won against Nick Jones 6-2, 6-3. Because South Carolina’s victory was already in hand, two matches were stopped early to accommodate the team’s long trip home. Pinheiro’s match at fourth singles against Manfred Jeske was stopped with Pinheiro leading 7-5, 2-0, and Chip Cox’s fifth singles match ended with him trailing Mike Ward 6-3, 5-6.
In a match of top-50 doubles tandems, No. 47 Chip Cox and Jones defeated No. 48 Hall Fess and Matt Walters in a tight 8-6 set. The win was the Gamecocks’ first against an SEC foe on the road under head coach Josh Goffi and the first since a March 28, 2010, victory at Mississippi State. Goffi was pleased with his team’s play, particularly after his team lost a long five-hour match at LSU on Friday.
“We fought really well today, considering the fatigue our guys were feeling from Friday’s five-hour battle,” Goffi said. “Getting this road win in the SEC under these circumstances is a testament to the heart and drive in our young team. I’m proud of the way the whole team contributed to the win today, whether they won their individual matches or not.”
He was particularly pleased with both the play and the veteran leadership of Machado.
“Ivan Machado has been a true senior leader these past two matches,” Goffi said. “Having a guy like him fight at the top spot gives the rest of the team confidence. We are learning how to compete as a team, and it’s exciting to see as we head towards the end of our schedule and tournament time.”
On Friday, the Gamecocks lost a marathon match 4-3 to No. 27 LSU at W.T. Dub Robinson Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. The six singles matches were split 3-3, with the first three positions playing three-set matches. LSU took two out of three in doubles to win the point. The Gamecocks’ win came from Machado and Pinheiro. Adams, Pinheiro and Cox all won their singles matches at third, fourth, and fifth singles, respectively.
Machado and Jones both suffered tough losses in three sets, Machado losing 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 to No. 55 Olivier Borsos of LSU, and Jones being defeated in a third-set tiebreaker 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5) to No. 73 Neal Skupski, which sealed the victory for the Tigers. Adams defeated a top-100 opponent, overcoming fellow freshman No. 98 Chris Simpson in another third set tiebreaker, winning 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1). Despite the loss, Goffi praised the effort of his team to compete at every position.
“It was a great college match today,” Goffi said. “I am proud of our team because they left their hearts on the court. We didn’t come out with the win, but we competed extremely well in all spots. That’s all I can ask for and, consequently, we got better today.”
The Gamecocks wrap up their regular season Saturday in Gainesville, Fla., where they take on No. 9 Florida. They then head to Starkville, Miss., for the SEC tournament, which will run April 19-22.