Columbia, S.C. – No. 16 South Carolina men’s tennis returns home this weekend for three matches at the Carolina Tennis Center. The Gamecocks will host No. 19 Mississippi State on Friday and will play a doubleheader with No. 51 Ole Miss and Furman on Sunday.
Friday’s match against Mississippi State will begin at 5:00 p.m. with Sunday’s matches at 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Match location will be dependent upon weather with the potential to move indoors to the Carolina Indoor Tennis Center.
Admission to all three matches will be free with gates opening one hour prior to first serve. As a reminder to fans, pets are not permitted at the Carolina Tennis Center.
For fans not in attendance, live streaming for all three matches will be available here. Live stats against Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Furman are available at each of the provided links. Both SEC matches will be aired on ESPN+ as part of the SEC Crosscourt Cast.
Gamecock Notables
- South Carolina is ranked No. 16 in the latest ITA team rankings. They are 8-8 overall and 2-3 in conference play this season.
- There are two Gamecocks in the ITA singles rankings – No. 21 Toby Samuel and No. 105 Casey Hoole.
- Samuel jumped up to a season-high No. 21 this week thanks to his ongoing six-match win streak that features three ranked wins. Samuel has not dropped a single set since falling to No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri of Texas at the ITA Indoor Championships in New York.
- Hoole is 19-17 this season and 7-8 in dual matches. He has six wins this season from the No. 2 spot in the lineup and one win from the No. 1 position.
- Samuel and Hoole are also ranked together in the ITA doubles rankings at No. 19. The duo is 8-3 this season with three ranked wins including two in the top-15. They have been ranked as high as No. 9 this season.
Scouting Mississippi State
- Mississippi State is ranked No. 19 and is 11-5 this season. They have been ranked as high as No. 12 in the country this season.
- The Bulldogs have two players in the ITA singles rankings – No. 39 Petar Jovanovic and No. 118 Nemanja Malesevic.
- Jovanovic is 21-11 overall this season with an 8-7 mark in dual play. He is 3-4 from the No. 1 position and 5-3 from No. 2.
- Malesevic is 9-7 overall and and 9-4 in dual play. He is 6-3 from the top of the lineup and 3-1 from the No. 2 position.
- Jovanovic is also in the doubles rankings at No. 37 with Benito Sanchez Martinez. The duo is 15-8 overall and 7-4 in dual play. They are 3-1 in SEC action.
Scouting…