South Carolina’s men’s tennis team secured a 4-3 comeback victory over Arkansas on Monday in Fayetteville, extending their winning streak to six matches and improving their Southeastern Conference record to 2-0. The Gamecocks, ranked No. 34 nationally, overcame an early deficit after losing the doubles point but rallied with four singles wins across the lineup.
The doubles competition was closely contested, with all three South Carolina pairs trailing 4-3 at one stage. Jakub Vrba and Connor Smillie clinched the first win for Arkansas at the No. 2 position by defeating Sean Daryabeigi and Max Stenzer 6-4. Dmitry Kopilevick and Brendan Boland followed with another 6-4 victory for Arkansas against Atakan Karahan and Cole Henceroth, giving the Razorbacks an early lead.
In singles play, Arkansas initially held momentum by taking first sets on four courts. Only Daryabeigi and Charlie Swaine managed to secure opening set wins for South Carolina. The Razorbacks increased their advantage when Stenzer lost his match in straight sets, but Swaine responded with a straight-set win to put South Carolina on the board.
Gabe Avram forced a third set in his match after recovering from a first-set loss, while Paul Barbier Gazeu also extended his contest to three sets before falling to Ben Weintraub of Arkansas. With the score at 3-1 in favor of Arkansas, Daryabeigi won from the second position to narrow the gap, and Avram tied it up by claiming his final two sets.
The deciding match came down to Lucas da Silva facing No. 18 Jakub Vrba at the top of the lineup. Da Silva won his third set 6-4 after edging out a tiebreak in the second set, clinching both his third ranked singles win of the season and victory for South Carolina.
South Carolina will host No. 3 Texas for its SEC home opener on Friday before traveling to face No. 15 Florida on Sunday.
For ongoing updates about South Carolina men’s tennis, fans can visit GamecocksOnline.com or follow @GamecockMTennis on social media.
