Skip to main content
Partner logo
Mobile Icon Link Mobile Icon Link Mobile Icon Link Gamecocks+
Men’s Tennis Topples Mississippi State to Advance to SEC Tournament Semifinals
Men's Tennis  . 

Men’s Tennis Topples Mississippi State to Advance to SEC Tournament Semifinals

Baton Rouge, La. – No. 24 South Carolina men’s tennis completed its second top-20 upset of the week to advance to its first SEC Tournament semifinal since 2021. The Gamecocks dropped the doubles point to No. 15 Mississippi State but were able to make up the difference in singles to win the match.

In doubles, the Bulldogs claimed the point with wins from the Nos. 3 and 1 positions, but not before Jelani Sarr and Lucas Andrade da Silva tallied a 6-3 win from the No. 2 position for their seventh win together as a pair.

In singles play, the Gamecocks came out swinging, taking first sets on all six courts.

The first singles point came from the top of the lineup where No. 15 Toby Samuel completed a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win over No. 56 Nemanja Malesevic for his 15th consecutive victory, a new career best. The fifteenth win of the streak ties him for fifth-longest streak in program history.

South Carolina was able to take the lead thanks to James Story on Court 2 as he recorded his highest ranked upset of the season. The senior defeated No. 46 Petar Jovanovic 7-6(2), 6-4.

Sarr increased South Carolina’s lead to 3-1 with his three-set victory on Court 5. The freshman bested junior Dusan Milanovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

The Bulldogs were finally able to put a singles point on the board next with Roger Ferrer Guimaraes taking down Carter Morgan in three sets on Court 6.

The match clinch came at the hands of Da Silva who pulled off a gritty straight set win in a pair of tiebreaker sets. He claimed the first set 7-6(6) and the second set 7-6(5) to secure the Gamecock victory and send the team through to the semifinals.

South Carolina has advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament three times in program history (1999, 2019, 2021) with two of them under head coach Josh Goffi  (2019, 2021). The team is 0-3 in semifinal matches.

The Gamecocks will face No. 6-ranked and second-seeded Tennessee in the semifinals. The Volunteers claimed the win during the regular season 4-0 in Knoxville at the end of March.

The semifinal match will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET and will be aired on the SEC Network+. Live stats for the match will be available here.

For all the latest South Carolina men’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).

#24 South Carolina 4, #15 Mississippi State 2

Doubles (order of finish: 3, 2, 1)

  1. #14 Petar Jovanovic/B. Sanchez Martinez (MS) def. Toby Samuel/James Story (SC) 6-4
  2. Jelani Sarr/Lucas da Silva (SC) def. Michal Novansky/Nemanja Malesevic (MS) 6-3
  3. Carles Hernandez/Dusan Milanovic (MS) def. Casey Hoole/Sean Daryabeigi (SC) 6-2

Singles (order of finish: 1, 5, 2, 6, 4)

  1. #15 Toby Samuel (SC) def. #56 Nemanja Malesevic (MS) 6-1, 6-2
  2. James Story (SC) def. #46 Petar Jovanovic (MS) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
  3. Carles Hernandez (MS) vs. Sean Daryabeigi (SC) 6-7 (2-7), 6-0, 5-4, unfinished
  4. Lucas da Silva (SC) def. B. Sanchez Martinez (MS) 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5)
  5. Jelani Sarr (SC) def. Dusan Milanovic (MS) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
  6. R. Ferrer Guimaraes (MS) def. Carter Morgan (SC) 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1

Related stories