Columbia, S.C. – The No. 18 Florida State men’s tennis team fell to No. 8 South Carolina 4-1 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Carolina Tennis Center.
“I thought it was a really hard-fought match with a lot of momentum swings,” head coach Dwayne Hultquist said. “I felt like the rain delay in doubles helped South Carolina and they came out playing better after it. We were up a break and had serve and had opportunities to break after that and South Carolina played very well there to take the doubles.”
“We had a very tough draw up here, especially given where we were ranked,” said Hultquist. “We’ve done a lot of really good things this season and had a number of great wins. I’m really proud of our guys but disappointed to see the season end.”
South Carolina secured the doubles point and a 1-0 lead after winning on court No. 2 and court No. 3.
The Gamecocks extended the lead to 2-0 after a 6-1, 6-1 win on court No. 1.
Florida State continued to fight, winning four first sets including winning three tiebreakers on courts No. 2, No. 3 and on No. 6.
Joshua Dous-Karpenschif put the Seminoles on the board making it 2-1 behind a 6-4, 6-4 straight-set win on court No. 4. This was Dous-Karpenschif’s second victory over a ranked opponent this season.
With all remaining courts in third sets, the Gamecocks took a 3-1 lead after a victory on court No. 5.
The match was clinched by South Carolina after a 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 2.
When the match was clinched Youcef Rihane led 5-4 in the third set on court No. 3 and Jamie Connel was winning 2-1 on court No. 6.
“I am pleased at how hard we fought in first sets,” Hultquist said. “We were down two sets and ended up winning four first sets, three of them at the same time. That put us in a good position heading into the key part of the match where South Carolina got early leads in the second sets and took these matches to three sets.”
Florida State finishes with a 20-9 record on the season. Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc is the No. 7 seed in the NCAA Singles Tournament, which begins May 22 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. Cornut-Chauvinc and Dous-Karpenschif are the No. 2 alternate in the NCAA Doubles Tournament.
For more information on the Florida State men’s tennis program, check Seminoles.com and follow us on social media at FSUMTennis (IG) and @FSU_MTennis (TW).
#8 South Carolina 4, #18 Florida State…