The men's tennis team opened the season undefeated Saturday after back-to-back wins in a doubleheader.
The men's team played well against Presbyterian College, winning 7-0 in the opening match, which set the tone for their next match against Winthrop. This early momentum carried over into the team's next match against Winthrop. The Gamecocks finished the day with another victory — this time 6-1.
First up for the men's team in doubles were juniors Alex Fennell and Thomas Mayronne, who defeated Presbyterian's Joel Roberts and Ben Kelley in a 6-2 match. Junior Sam Swank and sophomore Harrison O'Keefe won their match 6-4 against Brandon Mills and Danny Bruce. Wrapping up for the Gamecocks was freshman duo Yancy Dennis and Wood Benton. The pair's young talent was on full display as they defeated Diego Manzanas and Alexander Lykou 6-2. This was the team's final doubles match against PC, so it began singles play on a high note.
Fennell won his first match against Danny Bruce with ease. The junior won the first set 6-0 and concluded the match with a score of 6-2 in the second set. O'Keefe and Andrew Shafer added two more victories, and freshman Benton completed the sweep of Presbyterian in singles, defeating Ben Kelley, 6-0, 6-2.
The Gamecocks' match against Winthrop had the same result as Presbyterian, but the competition was much steeper. South Carolina breezed through doubles play, as O'Keefe and Swank won the first match 6-3. Dennis and Benton followed up that match with a 6-0 victory of their own.
The singles matches, on the other hand, were much closer. O'Keefe got the Gamecocks off to a hot start, defeating Tremayne Mitchell 6-1, 6-0, but his teammates had more difficulty closing out their matches. Fennell's first set went to a tiebreaker, which he won 7-6, before defeating his opponent handily in the second set 6-2.
Benton lost South Carolina's only set of the day against Michael Chen 4-6, but he went on to win the second and third sets, 6-2, 6-3.
Winthrop earned its one point of the match because the sixth position was left empty by the Gamecocks.
Head Coach Josh Goffi was pleased with the team's success.
"Every guy is playing good tennis, and there is a lot of confidence within the team. The best thing about it is I know what we are bringing to the table every day. We know where our team is, and we know the product we are going to put on the court," Goffi said.
Up next, the men’s tennis team will head to Columbus, Ohio to compete in the ITA Kickoff Weekend.