Columbia, S.C. – No. 4 South Carolina men’s tennis defeated No. 55 Arkansas on Sunday afternoon in a dominant 6-1 decision. The Gamecocks took the doubles point and were able to continue the momentum through singles play, winning five of the six matches.
In doubles, the Gamecocks went back to their usual lineup and were the first to get a win as No 1. Connor Thomson and Toby Samuel defeated Arkansas’ Adrien Burdet and Melvin Manual 6-3. No. 43 Jake Beasley and James Story were the ones to clinch the point, coming back from down 2-4 to win their match in a tie breaker with a score of 7-6(5).
In singles, No. 3 Samuel was first to finish his match to help the Gamecocks extend their lead 2-0. He defeated his opponent Stefanos Savva in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1.Samuel is now 15-3 in dual play with a 5-2 record against SEC opponents.
No. 8 Thomson finished his match shortly after, defeating Manuel to give the Gamecocks a 3-0 lead. His win also came in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4. Thomson has won each of his last three matches with the two most recent coming in straight sets.
The match was clinched by No. 82 Casey Hoole as he took down opponent Benni Emesz on Court 4. Hoole battled back after giving up an early break in the first set to take it 6-3, but Emesz fought back in the second set, going up 3-0 to start. Hoole refused to give in, taking the next three games for himself to tie the set at three all. From there, the two opponents traded service games back and fourth and the set was forced to a tiebreaker.
The tiebreaker was all Hoole with the Gamecock jumping out to a 3-0 lead before allowing his opponent a point on the board. Unfortunately for Emesz, that was the only point Hoole would allow. The sophomore claimed the next four points to take the set 7-6(1), clinching the match.
The last three matches were played out with all three needing third sets to be decided. The Razorbacks were able to get their lone point on the board with a tiebreak win on Court 6, but the Gamecocks were able to capture Courts 5 and 3 to close out the match.
The men’s tennis team will continue SEC action on the road on Friday, traveling to Oxford, Miss., to take on Ole Miss at 4:00 p.m. ET.
For all the latest South Carolina men’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
(4) South Carolina 6, (55) Arkansas 1
Doubles (order of finish: 1, 2)
- #1 Toby Samuel/Connor…