Men's Tennis Central: #18 Tennessee at #21 South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 18th-ranked Tennessee men's tennis team is set for a ranked showdown with No. 21 South Carolina on Thursday at 5 p.m. ET at Carolina Tennis Center.

A live stream will be provided for fans here, and live stats will continuously update throughout the duration of the match here.

LAST TIME OUT
Tennessee (16-5, 7-3 SEC) picked up its seventh straight SEC win against Vanderbilt, matching a record under head coach Chris Woodruff. After having to deal with multiple rain delays, the Vols were able to rally behind an early doubles point to earn a narrow 4-3 victory inside of Goodfriend Tennis Center.

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
South Carolina (14-6, 8-3 SEC) is slotted three spots behind the Vols at No. 21 nationally in the latest ITA National Rankings. The Gamecocks have won six of their last eight matchups, with their most recent competition ending in a 4-0 loss to Texas.

UT dropped the most recent showdown with South Carolina, 4-2, during the 2024 SEC Tournament. Since the 2022 ITA Indoor National Championships, neither the Vols nor Gamecocks have been able to string together a multi-match win streak, as the past six matches have been split evenly between the two clubs.

Currently, the Gamecocks have a trio of ranked singles individuals, as Connor Thomson, Sean Daryabeigi and Jelani Starr are slotted in the latest ITA Rankings. Thomson, paired with Lucas Andrade de Silva, holds the No. 4 national spot in the doubles rankings.

VOLS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#25 – Alex Kotzen
#31 – Shunsuke Mitsui

Doubles
#12 – Alex Kotzen/Alejandro Moreno

GAMECOCKS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#42 – Connor Thomson
#98 – Sean Daryabeigi
#111 – Jelani Sarr

Doubles
#4 – Lucas Andrade de Silva/Connor Thomson

SEVEN IN A ROW
Tennessee's seven-match conference win streak ties the record with Chris Woodruff at the helm. The lone other occurrence where UT saw seven straight SEC victories was during the 2022-23 regular season.

UP NEXT
Tennessee will continue its road swing, venturing south to take on Florida. The Vols will face the Gators on April 5 at 1 p.m. at Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.

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Men's Tennis Central: #18 Tennessee at #21 South Carolina

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Players Mentioned

Alex Kotzen

Shunsuke Mitsui

Alejandro Moreno

University of Tennessee | Official Athletics Site