Gamecocks have won 4 of past 5 matches after losing 5 in a row
The South Carolina men’s tennis team returns home to play its final games for the season at the Carolina Tennis Center.
The team will play Friday against Ole Miss and then Sunday versus Mississippi State.
The Gamecocks (11-10, 3-5 SEC) currently sit in the bottom half of the conference standings, but could see a leap toward the top half by earning victories this weekend.
After rebounding from a rough start to the season, the Gamecocks have won four of their five previous matches. Those games have given South Carolina momentum, which is why head coach Josh Goffi said the team doesn’t feel like they are near the bottom of the conference.
“We feel like we are one of the teams in the top half of the SEC now,” Goffi said. “This weekend is big to consolidate all our momentum.”
No. 36 South Carolina hopes its momentum stops Ole Miss (8-10, 3-6 SEC) from extending its win streak against the Gamecocks to 10 years, as they have not defeated Ole Miss since 2004. The No. 50 Rebels’ ranking suggests that South Carolina is the early favorite, but Goffi says Ole Miss is better than what the standings show.
“They’re lower ranked than us, but they’re not a 50-caliber team; they’re a top-15 caliber team,” Goffi said. “We’re a little bit scared of what’s going to happen, but we’re going to go out there and try to get that win.”
Mississippi State (17-7, 6-3 SEC) comes into Columbia on a five-game win streak looking to continue rising in the conference by avoiding an upset. Goffi said the Gamecocks need a win against a top-20 team like the No. 16 Bulldogs to “prove to ourselves that we are a top-15 team.”
Senior Chip Cox said that the team is playing with confidence and that playing at home will help ease the pressure of an important weekend.
“We’ll be playing with a lot of pressure, but our team does really well with that,” Cox said. “We play a lot better at home, so I think it’s going to be a great weekend for us.”
The pressure has only increased as the Gamecocks want weekend wins to solidify their place in the NCAA tournament. South Carolina must win two of its final four games to earn a bid, and its final two games — against No. 14 Kentucky and No. 26 Vanderbilt next week — won’t be easier.
Goffi said the team’s priority is to get into the tournament and that his players want to get the job done this weekend.
“We’re not going to wait around until the last weekend to do that, and the guys understand that,” Goffi said. “A desperate team is a dangerous team.”
Cox said the team has made few changes in its game plan since the team is really confident heading into the weekend.
Cox and Tsvetan Mihov are the only seniors on the team and will play in their final games at the Carolina Tennis Center. Cox said the feeling of being a senior is “unbelievable” and that he and Mihov are excited to play their last home games as Gamecocks.
“We’re both really pumped for our last two home matches,” Cox said. “We’re just going to go out there and give it all we got for South Carolina.”