University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
#29 South Carolina
Vols Earn 4-2 Road Win Over South Carolina
March 02, 2018 | Men's Tennis
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- No. 25 Tennessee picked up its first conference win of the season with a 4-2 victory over South Carolina on Friday night.
The Vols (11-2, 1-0 SEC) won the doubles point for the fourth consecutive match, and picked up wins on the No. 3, 4 and 6 Courts to fend off the Gamecocks (10-3, 0-1 SEC).
After USC tied the score with a singles win on Court 2, senior Luis Valero reclaimed the lead for the Vols with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Thomas Mayronne on Court 4.
The Gamecocks were able to knot it up once again, as 66th ranked Gabriel Friedrich defeated No. 25 Timo Stodder in three sets.
With the score at 2-2, it came down to a best of three in the final singles matches. After Scott Jones finished off Wood Benton in straight sets (6-4, 6-4), freshman Adam Walton picked up the first match-clinching win of his career in exciting fashion, taking down 98th ranked Yancy Dennis of USC in a second set tiebreaker, 7-4.
"It was a very good team effort," head coach Chris Woodruff said. "All the way across. We won first sets. Our number one guy lost, but we were still able to get it done. Just a total team effort. I'm really proud of the guys and I can't wait to get back to work."
While UT was able to close out the match late in singles, it was the continued success in doubles that proved to be the ultimate difference.
"We work on it a lot and we pride ourselves on it," Woodruff said. "You can see that in this match, if we don't win the doubles point, it's completely different."
UP NEXT: The Vols travel to Gainesville for a matchup with the 18th ranked Florida Gators on Sunday at 1 p.m.
#25 Tennessee 4, South Carolina 2
Singles
1. #66 Gabriel Friedrich (USC) def. #25 Timo Stodder (UT) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
2. Paul Jubb (USC) def. Preston Touliatos (UT) 7-5, 6-1
3. Adam Walton (UT) def. #98 Yancy Dennis (USC) 7-5, 7-6 (4)
4. Luis Valero (UT) def. Thomas Mayronne (USC) 6-4, 6-0
5. Nicaise Muamba (UT) vs. Harrison O'Keefe (USC) 2-6, 6-3, 3-4, unfinished
6. Scott Jones (UT) def. Wood Benton (USC) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
1. Preston Touliatos/Luis Valero (UT) def. Gabriel Friedrich/Yancy Dennis (USC) 6-1
2. Nicaise Muamba/Andrew Rogers (UT) vs. Paul Jubb/Thomas Mayronne (USC) 3-4, unfinished
3. Timo Stodder/Scott Jones (UT) def. Harrison O'Keefe/Wood Benton (USC) 6-2
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (2, 4, 1, 6, 3)
Players Mentioned
