While most South Carolina students headed home to catch up with friends, the men’s tennis team was busy competing in the SEC Fall Classic hosted by Auburn. Even though the tournament continues through Monday, the weekend was very successful for the Gamecocks.
Four members of the team participated in this tournament: junior Andrew Schafer, as well as sophomores Thomas Mayronne, Harrison O’Keefe and Gabriel Friedrich. Mayronne and O’Keefe combined for one doubles team, while Friedrich and Schafer made up the other.
Schafer entered flight play as a No. 2 seed, and he didn’t disappoint. Schafer made quick work of Tennessee’s Jack Heslin by winning two sets, 6-2, 6-1. Schafer dropped his set against Ole Miss's Fabian Fallert 5-7 but rebounded to win his next two sets 6-2, 6-0. The win against Fallert secured Schafer a spot in the Flight B championship with a chance to advance to the tournament’s final four.
Mayronne also performed well in the tournament winning his first set, but fell to Florida’s Elliot Orkin in a heartbreaker, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Both double’s tandems received a buy in their first round, but only Friedrich and Schafer were successful on Saturday. After winning against an Arkansas team, Friedrich and Schafer will advance to play in the Flight B bracket.