The No. 27 Gamecocks began their spring season by winning both matches of their doubleheader over No. 55 Elon and unranked Furman.
South Carolina completed a perfect day Saturday at USC Fieldhouse, sweeping both singles and doubles.
In both matches, the Gamecocks (2-0) jumped out to a 4-0 lead to clinch wins before yielding a point. The strong start allowed the Gamecocks to cruise and get experience in before facing No. 30 Stanford this Saturday. However, head coach Josh Goffi saw room for improvement.
“We didn't play great, which is actually comforting,” Goffi said. “We didn't have to play great — we just trusted our good stuff. That's really important for me to see as a coach. I hadn't seen that from a team this early in the season since I've been the coach here.”
Senior Kyle Koch, ranked as the No. 118 player nationally, began the season strongly going an undefeated 4-0 in his matches. Koch played his two doubles matches from the top slot with fellow senior Thiago Pinheiro, ranked No. 71, as his partner. Koch and Pinheiro made quick work of Elon’s top pair, winning 6-1.
Shortly after, South Carolina's duo of redshirt freshmen Harrison O’Keefe and Thomas Mayronne won their match 6-3 from the third doubles slot to clinch the point for the Gamecocks.
Later in the match, Koch won during the No. 2 spot in singles, 6-0, 7-5. O’Keefe also won his match 6-1, 7-6 from the No. 5 singles position. Sophomore and No. 83 ranked Andrew Schafer also made quick work of his opponent from the fourth position, winning 6-2, 7-5 to clinch the match for the Gamecocks. Senior Andrew Adams also played well, winning a point from his No. 3 position, 6-1, 6-4.
Pinheiro had a tough day in singles. He lost a super tiebreaker in both of his singles matches playing in the top spot. However, he and Koch both played well in their doubles matches.
The Gamecocks only gave up four points total, winning both matches by a score of 5-2. Of the four points given up, three came in super tiebreakers.
Against Furman, the Gamecocks won their doubles point easily. Koch and Pinheiro won 6-2 from the top slot while Adams and Schafer won 6-1 from the third spot.
In singles, Koch, Adams, Schafer and Mayronne all defeated their Paladin opponents in straight sets. Pinheiro and Mayronne each yielded points in close matches.
The team will have the week to prepare as they head to Gainsville, Florida on Jan. 24 for ITA Kickoff Weekend. They will play No. 30 Stanford on Saturday and either No. 32 Ole Miss or No. 13 Florida Sunday as they begin a grueling part of their schedule that includes five straight matches against ranked opponents.
South Carolina plays No. 22 Clemson Jan. 31.