Columbia, S.C. – No. 4 South Carolina men’s tennis returns home this weekend, hosting No. 18 Auburn and No. 55 Arkansas for a pair of conference matches. The Gamecocks will take on Auburn on Fri., March 24 beginning at 5:00 p.m. before hosting Arkansas on Sun., March 26 at noon.
Both matches will take place at the Carolina Tennis Center with gates opening one hour prior to first serve. Matches are free and open to the public. Free parking is available in the Heyward Street garage.
Those not in attendance can watch the match versus Auburn live here and view live stats here. Live streaming for the Arkansas match will be available here with live stats available here.
Gamecock Notables
- South Carolina is 15-2 on the season with a 4-1 mark in conference play. The team is coming off of their first SEC loss of the season, having fallen at No. 14 Mississippi State on Sunday.
- The team currently is ranked No. 4 in the nation and has been ranked in the top-5 for the past three weeks. They have spent all season ranked inside the top-10.
- Junior Toby Samuel enters the weekend as the reigning SEC Player of the Week for the second consecutive week after going a perfect 2-0 in both doubles and singles last weekend on the road.
- Samuel currently sits at a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the nation. He has an overall record of 19-3 including a 14-2 mark in dual play and 4-1 mark against SEC opponents, all from the No. 1 position. He is on a five-match win streak with each of the last four wins coming over ranked opponents.
- Also in the top-10 of the ITA singles rankings is junior Connor Thomson. Thomson is 25-5 overall this season and 12-3 in dual play. He is 9-3 against ranked opponents this season including three wins over top-10 players.
- Sophomore Casey Hoole and graduate Raphael Lambling round out South Carolina’s singles rankings with Hoole at No. 82 and Lambling at No. 111. Hoole is 22-11 overall while Lambling is 9-7 overall.
- In doubles, Samuel and Thomson continue to hold onto the No. 1 ranking. The duo is 18-1 overall and 11-1 in dual play, all from the top spot in the lineup. The pair is a perfect 4-0 against SEC opponents this season.
- Jake Beasley and James Story also make an appearance in the ITA’s Doubles Rankings at No. 43. The pair is 20-7 overall and 12-5 in dual play. They have clinched the doubles point five times this season.
Scouting the Tigers
- Auburn is 13-6 overall with a 2-3 mark in SEC play. They have a 1-3 record when playing on…