The South Carolina men’s tennis team, currently ranked No. 34 nationally, is set to begin Southeastern Conference (SEC) play this weekend with away matches against No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 29 Arkansas. The Gamecocks will face the Sooners on Saturday, February 21 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, followed by a match against the Razorbacks on Monday, February 23 at 2:00 p.m.
South Carolina enters conference play with a four-match winning streak, having recently secured three home victories. The team swept Presbyterian and SC State in a doubleheader and then defeated then-No. 20 Duke by a score of 4-1.
Paul Barbier Gazeu and Lucas da Silva played key roles in these wins, each claiming straight-set singles victories against South Carolina State and Duke. As doubles partners, they also went undefeated in those matches, including a win over Duke’s No. 36-ranked duo. Both players received SEC weekly honors for their performances—Gazeu as Freshman of the Week for the second time this season and da Silva as Player of the Week for the first time in his career.
Gazeu and da Silva have maintained an undefeated record in doubles during dual matches this season at 5-0 from primarily the top position and are currently on a seven-match winning streak.
Junior Sean Daryabeigi has posted a singles record of 4-1 so far this season, including consecutive wins from both the top two spots in the lineup. Freshman Charlie Swaine also holds a 4-1 singles record while playing lower in the order.
In individual rankings released earlier this week by ITA, da Silva leads South Carolina at No. 44 in singles, followed by Daryabeigi at No. 51 and Gazeu at No. 70. In doubles rankings, Gazeu and da Silva moved up to No. 28 after jumping twenty-three places; Daryabeigi teams with da Silva at No. 48 while Daryabeigi pairs with Stenzer at No. 86.
Oklahoma enters SEC play with an overall record of eight wins and one loss after starting its season with three consecutive victories that included advancing to the ITA Kickoff Weekend Championships where they beat Cal before narrowly losing to UCF. Since then, Oklahoma has won five straight matches—four by shutout scores of 4-0.
In ITA rankings for Oklahoma players: senior Luis Alvarez is ranked No. 49 in singles followed by Oscar Lacides (No.79) and Asahi Harazaki (No.89). In doubles competition Bruno Nhavene/Lacides are ranked No .54; Orel Kimhi/Johan Alexander are ranked No .71 . Alvarez holds a singles record of five wins from six matches , mostly playing from position two .
Arkansas has compiled nine wins against two losses so far this season , beginning its schedule with five straight victories before dropping a match to Yale . Since that defeat , Arkansas has gone four-and-one , most recently beating Nebraska and Creighton . The Razorbacks will play Memphis prior to facing South Carolina .
Sophomore Jakub Vrba is Arkansas’s only player listed individually in current ITA rankings , standing at number eighteen nationally ; he remains unbeaten through seven singles contests split between positions one (4-0)and two(3-0). Connor Smillie/Vrba are ranked sixty-sixth among doubles teams holding an even win-loss tally .
Historically , South Carolina leads its series against Oklahoma three games to none—the last meeting resulted in a six-to-one victory for South Carolina following Oklahoma’s entry into SEC competition . Against Arkansas , South Carolina holds twenty-six all-time wins compared to eleven losses —the Gamecocks have won their past five encounters .
Both upcoming matches will be available via PlaySight streaming services along with live scoring provided through StatBroadcast . Additional updates can be found on X (@GamecockMTennis).
“Paul Barbier Gazeu and Lucas da Silva had perfect performances against South Carolina State and Duke, each winning both of their singles matches in straight sets,” according to information released by the team’s media relations staff.
“The Gamecocks paired up in doubles against both opponents, going 2-0 which included a ranked win over Duke’s No.36 duo,” it was stated further.
“Gazeu and da Silva went on to sweep the SEC weekly awards, being named Freshman and Player of the week respectively,” read another section from official sources.
For more details about schedules or results fans can visit GamecocksOnline.com or follow @GamecockMTennis on social media platforms.
