Samuel and Hoole Wrap Season in Stillwater
Stillwater, Okla. – South Carolina men’s tennis wrapped the 2023-24 season on Tuesday in the NCAA Doubles Tournament. Senior Toby Samuel and junior Casey Hoole represented the program at the event, falling to the No. 1 seed.
The Gamecock pair took on Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas of Duke Tuesday afternoon. The Blue Devil pair took advantage of a late break to claim the first set 6-3, but Samuel and Hoole refused to go down easy.
In the second set, Johns and Rodenas broke the Gamecocks on their second service game to lead 3-1, but Samuel and Hoole broke back to tie things up at 3-3. Both pairs held serve through the remainder of the match, forcing a tiebreak for the decision.
In the breaker, things were even but Johns and Rodenas were first to make a move, holding match point while up 6-5. The Gamecock pair rallied to flip the lead in their favor 7-6 but the Blue Devils flipped once again to lead 8-7. South Carolina rallied one last time to go up 9-8 but the nation’s top-ranked pair proved their worth, claiming the next four points to win the set and match 7-6(9).
The departure from the NCAA Doubles Tournament marks the end of the 2023-24 season for South Carolina. The Gamecocks ended the season with a 19-15 team record, an overall singles record of 140-117 and an overall doubles record of 60-55.
NCAA Doubles Tournament
Round of 32: (1) Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (Duke) def. (20) Toby Samuel/Casey Hoole (SC) 6-3, 7-6(9).
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