The Daily Gamecock

Men's and women's tennis get different results against Clemson

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No matter the sport, a matchup between rivals South Carolina and Clemson is guaranteed to be intense and meaningful for both schools.

Men’s tennis is no different. 

The No. 29 Gamecocks took down No. 28 Clemson on Saturday 6-1 at the University of South Carolina Fieldhouse.

After dropping the first match in singles, the Gamecocks went on to take the next five, courtesy of senior Thiago Pinherio (7-6, 6-0), senior Kyle Koch (2-6, 6-2, 6-0), sophomore Andrew Schafer (6-3, 6-3), freshman Harrison O’Keefe (6-7, 6-4, 6-3) and sophomore Sam Swank (1-6, 6-1, 7-5).

After the match, South Carolina head coach Josh Goffi gave his team high praise for its winning efforts.

“The quality of the tennis wasn’t great initially," Goffi said. "Everybody was just trying to get their bearings on how each was going to play, but the quality of the tennis grew to phenomenal."

The Gamecocks also had success in the doubles matches, winning all three. The pairings of Pinheiro and Koch defeated their opponents 7-6, and senior Andrew Adams and Schafer came up victorious as well, winning 6-4.

“That was the best college tennis I have seen in my career here on that last doubles on Court 1," Goffi said. "It was unbelievable. This team’s got a lot of character.”

The team was also full of a lot of emotion after besting the Tigers.

“The emotion, the crowd and the team today were all just believable,” Koch said at the end of the day. “I’ve never been a part of a greater environment in my four years as a Gamecock.”

South Carolina’s next matches are this weekend when the Gamecocks will take on Wake Forest on Friday, Feb. 6 and NC State and Wofford on Sunday, Feb. 8.

Meanwhile, the No. 21 South Carolina women’s tennis team didn’t have as much good fortune, falling to No. 10 Virginia 5-2 in Charlottesville, Virginia Friday. 

The only wins came from sophomore Caroline Dailey (6-4, 7-6) and junior Ximena Siles Luna (6-1, 6-4). The lone Gamecock victory in doubles came from the paring of Dailey and Siles Luna (4-3).

South Carolina’s struggles continued Sunday as the Gamecocks fell against Clemson 5-2. The only wins came from senior Meghan Blevins (6-3, 6-2), and Siles Luna (6-1, 6-0).

The team looks to rebound on Feb. 14 against Charlotte.   


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