Auburn, Ala. – No. 6 South Carolina men’s tennis fell 2-4 to No. 21 Texas A&M in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Friday. The Gamecocks took the doubles point but were only able to secure one singles match in the loss.
The Aggies were first to record a win on the day, taking the No. 2 doubles match 6-2, but South Carolina evened the decision just seconds later with the nation’s No. 1 pair of Connor Thomson and Toby Samuel shutting out No. 39 Pierce Rollins and Mattis Ross 6-0.
The decision fell to Court 3 where Raphael Lambling and Casey Hoole were already up 5-1 on their opponents. The Gamecocks were able to take their next service game to claim the match 6-1, clinching the doubles point.
Play moved to singles where the Aggies quickly evened the match at 1-1 with a 6-1, 6-1 win on Court 6.
Remaining matches were lengthy with many breaks both ways and plenty of deuce points. The next Aggie point came on Court 4 where Lambling took the first set 6-4, but gave up the next two 0-6, 2-6 for A&M’s first lead of the night.
Texas A&M pushed their lead to 3-1 with a straight set win on Court 5 and were one match away from clinching with all three remaining matches at the top of the lineup in third sets.
Thomson was able to minimize the damage for South Carolina, battling back from down a set to win his match. The junior dropped his first set 4-6, but regrouped to take the next two 6-2, 6-2, but the Aggies clinched the match on Court three with James Story falling 6-4, 6-7(5), 1-6.
South Carolina will return to home to await a bid in the NCAA Tournament.
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#21 Texas A&M 4, #6 South Carolina 2
Doubles (order of finish: 2, 1, 3)
- #1 Connor Thomson/Toby Samuel (SC) def. #39 Pierce Rollins/Matthis Ross (TAM) 6-0
- #71 Giulio Perego/Trey Hilderbrand (TAM) def. #44 Jake Beasley/James Story (SC) 6-2
- Raphael Lambling/Casey Hoole (SC) def. Raphael Perot/Kenner Taylor (TAM) 6-1
Singles (order of finish: 6, 4, 5, 2, 3)
- #8 Toby Samuel (SC) vs. #64 Raphael Perot (TAM) 5-7, 7-5, 3-5, unfinished
- #17 Connor Thomson (SC) def. Giulio Perego (TAM) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
- Guido Marson (TAM) def. James Story (SC) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
- #110 Trey Hilderbrand (TAM) def. #118 Raphael Lambling (SC) 4-6, 6-0, 6-2
- Matthis Ross (TAM) def. #96 Casey Hoole (SC) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
- JC Roddick (TAM) def. Jake Beasley (SC) 6-1, 6-1
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