ATHENS, GA. – South Carolina men’s tennis wrapped up its first tournament of the season with several Gamecocks launching winning streaks on the final day of the Southern Intercollegiates at the Dan Magill Tennis Center, Junior Lucas Andrade da Silva and freshman Gabe Avram each won singles matches over the weekend, including two wins each on Sunday.
Sunday’s action yielded a pair of wins for da Silva, playing in consolation matches in the Singles Black draw. The junior opened the day topping Clemson’s Marko Mesarovic 6-4, 6-3, and he stretched his win streak to three with a win over another Clemson foe in Viktor Markov, 6-1, 6-4.
No. 118 Jelani Sarr got back in the win column Sunday, upsetting No. 64 Miquel Perez Pena of Georgia. The Gamecock sophomore took the first set in a runaway tiebreak 7-6(3) but dropped the second set 4-6. The third went back and forth with the two staying on serve until Sarr finally scored a late break for the 7-5 victory, his first over a ranked opponent this season.
Sophomore Sean Daryabeigi got his first win of the season with a 6-3, 6-2 showing against Georgia State’s Baran Soyler.
Freshman Gabe Avram closed his first collegiate tournament with a pair of three-set wins on Sunday. The North Carolinian rallied back from first-set losses in both matches. The first came against Georgia Tech’s Krish Arora and saw Avram cruise in the final two sets for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory. A few hours later, he did the same against Georgia’s Cyrus Mahjoob. After dropping the first set, Avram dominated the second-set tiebreak and rolled in the third for the 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 win. He also teamed with fellow freshman Cole Henceroth for a 6-3 doubles win over Georgia Tech’s Chrisophe Clement and Owen DeMuth.
Atakan Karahan also capped his first college tournament on high, blanking Arizona State’s Tanner Povey 6-0, 6-0. Doubles action also saw Karahan come out a winner, teaming with Sarr for a 6-1 win over Joseph Waynard and Lukas Steffen of UNC Wilmington.
Avram and da Silva each finished the tournament at 3-1 in singles, while Sarr and Karahan each finished with two singles wins over the three-day tournament. The Sarr/Karahan doubles team dominated with a 3-1 mark as well.
Select Gamecocks will be back in action in the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., next weekend, beginning with prequalifying rounds on Sat., Sept. 21.
Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts…