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South Carolina
South Carolina Uses Third-Set Tiebreaker to Beat Georgia, 4-2
April 21, 2021 | Men's Tennis
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – With teammate Tyler Zink leading 5-2 in the final set, Georgia men's tennis junior Philip Henning fell in a third-set tiebreaker at court three to seal South Carolina's 4-2 win Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
Georgia rebounded from a loss in doubles to find itself down 3-2, but still in good shape. Henning forced a tiebreaker at No. 3 and Zink looked like he was well on his way to the win at two.
South Carolina's Toby Samuel proved to be too much down the stretch, taking a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4) victory against Henning to clinch the match.
No. 9 Georgia falls to 14-6 overall and sees its seven-match SEC win streak come to an end. No. 13 South Carolina improves to 15-8 and advances to Thursday's semifinals.
"That was a tough one today," head coach Manuel Diaz said. "We put ourselves in position to close it out and just couldn't get it done. Credit to South Carolina for fighting our momentum and coming up with a win."
Georgia's All-America doubles duo of Trent Bryde and Tyler Zink lost for just the second time in eight matches, falling 6-2 at the No. 1 court to lead things off.
Despite a 6-4 victory from from Billy Rowe and Blake Croyder at No. 2, the Bulldogs could not overcome the early loss as Henning and Erik Grevelius dropped a 6-3 decision at court No. 3.
Down 1-0 following doubles, Georgia had work to do. Grevelius quickly evened the match at 1-1 with his 6-3, 6-2 triumph at the No. 6 court. The Gamecocks then reclaimed the lead as No. 2-ranked Daniel Rodrigues defeated Georgia's No. 12-ranked Trent Bryde, 6-4, 7-5.
The Gamecocks stretched the lead out to 3-1 following a battle at court five, where Rowe lost 7-6 (3), 7-5 to Jake Beasley. That's when Croyder answered back with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win at No. 4.
With South Carolina lead 3-2, the match came down to Zink and Henning at courts two and three. Zink built a sizable lead in the final frame, but Henning could not close it out in a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4) defeat.
Georgia will now prepare for the NCAA Tournament, which begins with the first and second rounds on May 7-9.
Match Results
#13 South Carolina 4, #9 Georgia 2
SEC Quarterfinals | April 21, 2021
Doubles
1. #20 Daniel Rodrigues/Connor Thompson (USC) def. #8 Trent Bryde/Tyler Zink (UGA), 6-2
2. #58 Billy Rowe/Blake Croyder (UGA) def. Jake Beasley/Toby Samuel (USC), 6-4
3. #84 Raphael Lambling/Phillip Jordan (USC) def. Philip Henning/Erik Grevelius (UGA), 6-3
Order of finish (1,3,2)
Singles
1. #2 Daniel Rodrigues (USC) def. #12 Trent Bryde (UGA), 6-4, 7-5
2. #31 Tyler Zink (UGA) vs. #25 Connor Thomson (USC), 6-7 (6), 6-3, 5-2, uf
3. #93 Toby Samuel (USC) def. #18 Philip Henning (UGA), 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4)
4. Blake Croyder (UGA) def. #59 Raphael Lambling (USC), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
5. Jake Beasley (USC) def. Billy Rowe (UGA), 7-6 (3), 7-5
6. Erik Grevelius (UGA) def. Thomas Brown (USC), 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish (6, 1, 5, 4, 3)
Players Mentioned
