Texas men’s tennis is rolling through the Southeastern Conference, securing an undefeated 9–0 record in conference play; however, all eyes will be on the Longhorns when they take on the No. 2 team in the conference on Sunday.
No. 4 Texas is set to square off against No. 26 South Carolina on Sunday at the Texas Tennis Center. South Carolina will look to stay hot after an upset win in College Station, taking down No. 12 Texas A&M.
South Carolina’s star studded doubles lineup paved the way for the Gamecocks’ road victory. No. 26 graduate student Connor Thomson and junior Lucas da Silva took care of business defeating Aggie duo No. 30 freshman Theo Papamalamis and junior Togan Tokac 6-4. After a two match losing skid, South Carolina’s No. 87 freshman Atakan Karahan and sophomore Jelani Sarr secured the doubles point en route to a 4-2 conference win. With an 8-2 conference record, South Carolina has solidified itself as the No. 2 team in the SEC, just behind No. 1 Texas.
Competing against high caliber tennis is not a new concept for the Longhorns as this marks its sixteenth ranked matchup of the season. After a 4-0 win against No. 35 Kentucky on Friday, Texas will look to carry over its momentum.
After both No. 19 junior Sebastian Gorzny and No. 53 junior Jonah Braswell fell to unranked players against LSU last Sunday, they got back in the winning column, taking care of Tiger’s sophomore No. 49 Jack Loutit 6-2, 6-1 and No. 121 junior Charlelie Cosnet 6-0, 6-1, respectively. Redshirt freshman No. 3 Timo Legout, No. 19 Gorzny, senior No. 46 Pierre-Yves Bailly and No. 53 Braswell have been the Longhorns’ superpower this season. Texas is the only team in the country to have four singles players ranked inside the top 60.
The Gamecocks will counter the Longhorns’ singles lineup with a roster filled with ranked players. No. 54 Thomson, No. 82 sophomore Sean Daryabeigi, and No. 106 Sarr will all need to have successful days if the Gamecocks want to upset the Longhorns.
Sunday marks the Longhorns’ final home match this season, submitting a perfect 14-0 home record with a win against the Gamecocks. Texas will also celebrate Senior Day and will recognize Bailly before the match.
Bailly was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Championship in Texas’ 2024 Big 12 Championship and was named the 2022 Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
In the team’s first meeting in 1978, South Carolina defeated Texas, but the Longhorns have dominated since, winning the following nine matchups, holding a 9–1 all-time series lead against the Gamecocks. Texas will face South Carolina at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
