The Gamecock men’s tennis team will welcome archrival Clemson to town Saturday for a top-30 tennis match that has both players and coaches amped up.
For South Carolina, which will look to upset the No. 22 Tigers after a tough loss to No. 32 Ole Miss last Sunday, it's impossible to overstate the importance of this game.
It’s Clemson week: a seven-day period unlike any other; a week where every single second is dedicated to making sure the team does its part in this rivalry by beating the Tigers and coming back champions. Head coach Josh Goffi understands the passion behind the rivalry but also understands that cooler heads usually prevail.
“I think the young guys are getting pretty juiced up, and the seniors are kind of regulating things, letting these guys know ‘Hey, we need to have fun our here, we can’t get too tense during pre-training week, and it’s just another match,’” Goffi said.
Senior Kyle Koch also understands how big this match is in the scope of the rivalry.
“Going into Clemson, I think everyone’s a little more focused,” Koch said. "There’s obviously a lot riding on the match. It’s important not only for us but for the university. There’s a lot of pride behind it."
Last week, after the Ole Miss match, Goffi spoke about how his team gave up the lead and emphasized ‘reaching the finish line.’ When asked how he thought his team could accomplish that against the Tigers, Goffi said it will come with time.
“You have to be in that moment,” Goffi said. "You have to create opportunities and that’s what we did last week. The more opportunities we have, the more comfortable we’ll be in that situation.”
One player to watch on Saturday is sophomore Andrew Schafer. The Hilton Head, South Carolina native, who was a highly touted five-star recruit coming out of high school, is 3-0 in singles play this year and is currently the only player without a loss. Schafer also has a win against a nationally ranked opponent.
With three seniors ahead of him in the rotation, Schafer’s play adds incredible depth to the team, which is one of the reasons why the Gamecocks have their best team in years.
This match against Clemson is the third-straight bout with a nationally ranked opponent, and nobody is expecting a cakewalk.
“We’re not expecting to have an easy match,” Goffi said. "We’re expecting a 4-3, down to the wire match, the way it always is with them. We expect a great fight out of them, and we welcome it.”