Gamecocks Pick Up Road Win Against Vanderbilt

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 43 South Carolina men’s tennis team picked up its first road win of the 2024-25 dual match season, defeating No. 39 Vanderbilt 4-3 in a comeback victory after dropping the doubles point.

The Gamecocks move to a 9-4 record and are now 3-1 in SEC play.

Connor Thomson and Lucas da Silva picked up their fifth consecutive win as a pair to kick off the doubles action, quickly topping their opponents 6-3 at the top of the lineup in a 30-minute match. Jelani Sarr and Atakan Karahan closed the gap of a 1-3 deficit to 4-5 in attempt to comeback but were unable to pull through, ultimately dropping the set 4-6 which left the decision down to line 3 where Sean Daryabeigi and Casey Hoole were in a tight match at 5-all.

The Gamecocks were edged out as the Commodores held Daryabeigi and Hoole to just 15 in the last two games of the match, surging past them to pull out a 7-5 win and clinch the doubles point which provided Vanderbilt with an early lead.

Thomson and Daryabeigi both claimed their first sets with 7-5 wins while da Silva and Hoole dropped theirs which had singles action off to an even start for the two teams. With a win from the No. 2 position as Nathan Cox topped da Silva 6-3, 6-2, Vanderbilt pulled ahead to a 2-0 lead.

Thomson got the Gamecocks on the board after a dominant second set, winning his fifth consecutive singles match with a 7-5, 6-0 showing. Daryabeigi followed it up with a 7-5, 6-3 victory to even out the score to 2-all.

Hoole bounced back for his second set, winning in a tiebreak 7-6(5) to force a decider set. The senior started off slow in the third set, trailing 1-4 to Danil Panarin but was able to find momentum and storm back to win 6-4 after claiming five consecutive games. Hoole’s victory propelled the Gamecocks to a 3-2 lead over the Commodores.

It all came down to the two freshmen of the lineup, Karahan and Gabe Avram, who were battling from the No. 5 and 6 positions respectively after both winning their first sets. The clincher came from Avram who pulled through in a tiebreak 7-6(3) to secure the win for the Gamecocks at 4-2.

After playing the match out, Karahan dropped his match against Henry Ruger after losing the super tiebreak 1-10 which provided Vanderbilt with its third point.

The Gamecocks remain on the road for their next match, heading to Oxford to take on Ole Miss on Sat., March 8 at 2:00 p.m.

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

(43) South Carolina 4, (39) Vanderbilt 3

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

1. #26 Connor Thomson/Lucas da Silva (SC) def. #28 Nathan Cox/Michael Ross (VU) 6-3
2. Danil Panarin/Pablo Gomez (VU) def. Jelani Sarr/Atakan Karahan (SC) 6-4
3. Henry Ruger/Giuseppe Cerasuolo (VU) def. Casey Hoole/Sean Daryabeigi (SC) 7-5

Singles (order of finish:2,3,4,1,6,5)

1. Casey Hoole (SC) def. Danil Panarin (VU) 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4
2. Nathan Cox (VU) def. Lucas da Silva (SC) 6-2, 6-3
3. #57 Connor Thomson (SC) def. Michael Ross (VU) 7-5, 6-0
4. #79 Sean Daryabeigi (SC) def. Pablo Gomez (VU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Henry Ruger (VU) def. Atakan Karahan (SC) 6(3)-7, 7-5, 1-0 (10-1)
6. Gabe Avram (SC) def. Dylan Charlap (VU) 6-3, 7-6(3)