Men’s tennis to host doubleheader after 2 losses last weekend
South Carolina men’s tennis will look to get back on a winning track this Saturday behind first-year Gamecock Tsvetan Mihov, a junior transfer from Oklahoma.
USC (4-2) takes to the court in Columbia this weekend to host No. 60 Georgia Tech and in-state rival Wofford in a doubleheader. South Carolina is coming off its first two losses of the season after racing out to an unblemished 4-0 start to the spring campaign. Both losses came against top-50 opponents in No. 17 Texas and No. 47 Michigan State with final scores of 4-1 and 4-3, respectively.
Despite the tough weekend, coach Josh Goffi remains optimistic about his Gamecocks going forward.
“I’m glad that those losses happened early in the season, rather than showing us something we need to work on later in the season,” Goffi said. “This week’s been a great week of practice so far, and we’re looking to get back on the horse, ready for Georgia Tech.”
South Carolina’s first opponent of the day will be the Yellow Jackets, who have gotten off to a rocky start despite their national ranking. After taking the first two matches of the season at home, Georgia Tech was upended in both of its ITA kickoff weekend matches. The Yellow Jackets traveled to Los Angeles and suffered losses to Fresno State and San Diego State, getting shut out by the latter opponent. Standout Juan Spir, who currently holds the No. 32 ranking in collegiate tennis, is coming off two consecutive singles losses.
Mihov has been filling the No. 1 slot for USC this spring and is slated to match up against Spir on Saturday.
“He’s pretty tall — good serve, gets the game — and we’re going to play outside, so it’s going to be windy,” Mihov said. “I must develop a game specific to his game to beat him.”
Last year, as a member of the Sooners, Mihov was ranked as high as No. 38 in the nation, and he registered at least 20 singles victories in each of his two seasons in Norman. He will take on a two-time All-ACC selection in Spir this weekend.
Goffi, on the other hand, chooses not to pay attention to ITA position and rather focus on what he and his team can control.
“Rankings don’t matter right now because rankings aren’t realistic,” Goffi said. “There’s not enough matches being played at this point in the year, whether it be team or individual (rankings) to know exactly how good anybody is.”
The Gamecocks will have a quick turnaround, facing the Wofford Terriers later in the day. Wofford enters the match with an 0-2 spring record.
With his first full semester under his belt at South Carolina, Mihov has adjusted well to his new team and his new surroundings.
“I came here and I liked the atmosphere and the guys, and coach Goffi and (assistant coach) Matt Lucas are unbelievable,” Mihov said. “They’ve helped me to develop my game each day ... and everything’s much better.”
Mihov, originally from Bulgaria, is focusing primarily on his movement to the ball, as well as his forehand, as he prepares for what will already be USC’s third doubleheader of the spring season. He pointed to the mental aspect of the game as a key for the Gamecocks to rebound from last weekend’s losses.
The first match of the day will get underway at 11 a.m. Due to weather concerns, the second contest, beginning at 4 p.m., will be moved to South Carolina’s indoor tennis facility.
Goffi, Mihov and the rest of the Gamecocks are eager to get back on the court this weekend and establish themselves as a threat on the national stage.
“This is a big match for us. We need to get on the board; we need to get a ranked win,” Goffi said. “We are a good team ... and we’re going to prepare our guys to be as hungry as possible.”