Columbia, S.C. –South Carolina men’s tennis will continue conference play on the road this weekend, traveling to dual against No. 45 LSU and No. 14 Mississippi State. The Gamecocks go into the weekend with their highest ranking in program history, coming in at No. 2 in the latest ITA Team Rankings.
The Gamecocks will take on the Tigers in Baton Rouge on Friday, March 17 at 6:00 p.m. ET. Live video for the match is available here and live stats are available here.
Following Friday’s match, South Carolina will head to Starkville, Miss., where they will face the No. 14 Bulldogs on Sunday, March 19 at 1:00 p.m. ET. Live video and live stats for the match is available here.
Gamecock Notables
- South Carolina is 14-1 on the season and 3-0 in SEC play. The team is also a perfect 5-0 when playing on the road this season.
- The Gamecocks are sitting at their highest ranking in program history, coming in at No. 2 in the latest ITA Team Rankings following their upset of No. 4 Ohio State and sweep of No. 66 Alabama.
- Junior Toby Samuel enters the weekend of conference play as the reigning SEC Player of the Week following last weeks matches. Samuel is ranked No. 6 in the nation by the ITA in singles and has a 12-2 mark from the top spot in the lineup.
- Fellow junior Connor Thomson is also in the ITA’s singles top-10, coming in at No. 5. Thomson is 24-4 overall this season including a 10-2 mark from the No. 2 position.
- Also in the ITA Singles Rankings for the Gamecocks are No. 83 Casey Hoole and No. 84 Raphael Lambling. Hoole is 22-9 overall this season while Lambling is 9-5.
- Junior James Story enters the weekend on a four-match win streak and Jake Beasley enters with a three-match win streak. Both Gamecocks hold perfect records in conference play thus far.
- The doubles pair of Samuel and Thomson still holds onto the top spot in the ITA Doubles Rankings. The duo is 16-1 overall and 9-1 in dual play, all from the No. 1 position. They enter the weekend on a seven-match win streak.
- Beasley and Story are also ranked together in doubles, coming in at No. 22. They are 20-5 overall and 12-3 in dual play.
Scouting the Tigers
- LSU is 8-5 this season with a 0-4 mark in SEC play. Friday’s match will be their SEC home opener, having faced all four of their SEC opponents on the road so far this season. The Tigers have a 5-1 mark when playing on their home courts.
- LSU is ranked No. 45 in the latest ITA Team Rankings but has been ranked as high as No. 34 this…