No. 13 South Carolina men's tennis swept UNC Wilmington 4-0 Friday afternoon to advance to the second round of the NCAA Championships.
South Carolina took control of the top two doubles matches midway through their first sets. In the No. 2 match, Jake Beasley and Toby Samuel went up a break at 3-1, pushing their lead to 5-1. The Seahawks got a break back to cut the deficit to 5-2, but the Gamecock duo pushed back in the next game, forcing a match-deciding deuce point. Beasley finished off a short rally with a backhand volley to seal the 6-2 victory.
At the top of the doubles lineup, No. 13 Daniel Rodrigues and Connor Thomson scored their break in the sixth game, taking a 4-2 lead into the final games. The duo held onto that break and delivered the doubles point with a 6-3 win punctuated by a Rodrigues overhead on match point.
The Gamecocks continued that momentum into singles, winning three first sets quickly and then rallying back to win the next three as well.
Carolina advances to play No. 24 NC State on Sat., May 8, at 1 p.m. at Carolina Tennis Center.
NC State advanced to the NCAA Championship second round earlier Friday after FGCU was forced to withdraw from the event due to COVID-19 contact tracing. It will be the second meeting between the Gamecocks and Wolfpack at Carolina Tennis Center this season. South Carolina posted a 4-0 win in the first meeting on Mar. 19.
