Thursday was a busy day in the SEC with eight teams in action since the conference is playing on Thursday and Saturday this week. Three of the four matches saw the road team pick up a win while No. 17 Kentucky was the only team to win at home. TCU finished off its West Coast trip with another win while just down the road UCLA knocked off Duke. 

South Carolina rallied from a 3-1 deficit on the road to defeat Arkansas 4-3. South Carolina took the doubles point when its No. 3 team of Gabriel Friedrich and Andrew Schafer broke for 6-5 and then Schafer held on the no-ad point to clinch it 7-5. Arkansas turned it around in singles and took five opening sets but it’d only be able to close out two of them in straight sets with Mike Redlicki and Oscar Mesquida doing so at No. 1 and No. 4. Johan den Toom won in three sets at No. 5 but South Carolina evened it up at 3-3 with three set wins from Andrew Schafer and Paul Jubb at No. 3 and No. 6. Schafer trailed 2-6, *4-5 in his match at No. 3 before rallying to win 9 of the next 11 games. 

South Carolina’s Harrison O’Keefe clinched the win by pulling away in the third set to defeat Jose Salazar 6-7, 7-6, 6-2. Here is a clip of some more Gamecock celebrating. 

#26 South Carolina 4, #46 Arkansas 3
Mar 16, 2017 at Fayetteville, AR (Billingsley Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #6 Mike Redlicki (AR) def. #51 Gabriel Friedrich (USC) 6-3, 6-3
2. Harrison O’Keefe (USC) def. #24 Jose Salazar (AR) 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
3. Andrew Schafer (USC) def. Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
4. Oscar Mesquida (AR) def. Yancy Dennis (USC) 7-5, 6-3
5. Johan den Toom (AR) def. Alex Fennell (USC) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
6. Paul Jubb (USC) def. Juan Marino (AR) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Yancy Dennis/Harrison O’Keefe (USC) def. #56 Mike Redlicki/Jose Salazar (AR) 6-4
2. Adam Sanjurjo/Oscar Mesquida (AR) vs. Sam Swank/Alex Fennell (USC) 6-6 (3-5), unfinished
3. Gabriel Friedrich/Andrew Schafer (USC) def. Johan den Toom/Branch Terrell (AR) 7-5
Match Notes:
South Carolina 13-4 (2-2 SEC); National ranking #26
Arkansas 8-7 (2-2 SEC); National ranking #46
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,5,4,6,3,2)

Quotes from Arkansas’s recap
“Excellent effort again by the team,” head coach Andy Jackson said. “Very bitter result as we had it and didn’t close. A lot of the reason for it was the excellent play and heart by South Carolina. It will be a big challenge to not get down but come again on Saturday with the same effort and try to play better.”

Florida dropped the doubles point to Ole Miss but the Gators got it done in singles with Alfredo Perez, Chase Perez-Blanco, Maxx Lipman, and Joseph Guillin winning in straight sets. 

#16 Florida 5, #42 Ole Miss 2
Mar 16, 2017 at Oxford, MS (Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #10 Alfredo Perez (UF) def. #39 Gustav Hansson (OM) 7-5, 6-3
2. Ricardo Jorge (OM) def. Elliott Orkin (UF) 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (1-7), 10-6
3. Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) def. Tim Sandkaulen (OM) 6-3, 6-1
4. Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Fabian Fallert (OM) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
5. Maxx Lipman (UF) def. Filip Kraljevic (OM) 6-3, 6-1
6. Joseph Guillin (UF) def. Zvonimir Babic (OM) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #23 Fabian Fallert/Grey Hamilton (OM) def. #4 Alfredo Perez/Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 6-3
2. Ricardo Jorge/Zvonimir Babic (OM) def. Maxx Lipman/Elliott Orkin (UF) 6-2
3. Gustav Hansson/Filip Kraljevic (OM) vs. Chase Perez-Blanco/Joshua Wardell (UF) 5-5, unfinished
Match Notes
Florida 10-6, 3-1; National ranking #16
Ole Miss 6-5, 1-3; National ranking #42
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (6,3,5,1,2,4)
Official: Steve Sciple A-147

Quotes from Ole Miss’s recap

Thoughts from head coach Toby Hansson...
“We played well in doubles, and I am pleased with what we are doing there. We got the doubles point against Tennessee as well, so we knew that we had to push the reset button and get back to work in singles. The tough conditions made it slow down the courts quite a bit, and we weren’t able to stay disciplined enough out there. A couple of matches got away from us too quickly. If you want to beat the top teams or any team for that matter, you need to be able to stay out there and battle a little longer and not put yourself in a big hole. Three easy matches is too many.”

On next match and competing…
“The mindset has to be you go and compete 100 percent, and If we do that, we are a tough team. If we can do that on Saturday, we have a good chance to win.”

Mississippi State dropped the doubles point to Vanderbilt but the Bulldogs rallied in singles with Nuno Borges, Strahinja Rakic, Mate Cutura, Niclas Braun, and Giovanni Oradini picking up wins. 

Notes: Mate Cutura came back from 0-3 down in the second set to win 6-3. Vanderbilt’s No. 1 Cameron Klinger is out for the year with a torn ACL. 

#21 Mississippi State 5, #34 Vanderbilt 2
Mar 12, 2017 at Nashville, Tenn. (Currey Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #4 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. Daniel Valent (VANDY) 6-4, 6-4
2. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Baker Newman (VANDY) 7-5, 1-6, 6-3
3. Mate Cutura (MSU) def. Lachlan McPhee (VANDY) 6-4, 6-3
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Billy Rowe (VANDY) 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2
5. Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Panu Virtanen (VANDY) 7-6, 7-6 (8-6)
6. Alex Ross (VANDY) def. Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-1, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. Billy Rowe/Lachlan McPhee (VANDY) def. #48 Trevor Foshey/Niclas Braun (MSU) 7-5
2. Panu Virtanen/Pen Binet (VANDY) vs. Vaughn Hunter/Mate Cutura (MSU) 5-6, unfinished
3. Baker Newman/Daniel Valent (VANDY) def. Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-4
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,3,5,4,2,6)

Quotes from MSU’s recap
“We were fortunate to get some practice time indoors in Nashville this week, so that helped today,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “We have a team that can play both indoors and outdoors, so we weren’t afraid of the challenge. When you move indoors the crowd is always louder, but our guys did a great job adjusting to that to earn the win.”

“The crowd was very loud today and our guys did a great job not letting the noise affect us in singles play,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “We won a lot of deuce-deciding points which really shifted the momentum early.”

“Vanderbilt tried to mount a push, but our guys did a great job closing out the match,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “It’s always tough to win on the road in the SEC, especially in an environment like this. So I am very proud of how we competed and performed today and we’re looking forward to our next opportunity to get better against Kentucky on Saturday.”

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Kentucky didn’t have any issues against Auburn with the Cats taking the doubles point and picking up three quick wins in singles.

#17 Kentucky 6, Auburn 1
Mar 16, 2017 at Lexington, Ky. (Boone Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #28 Will Bushamuka (UK) def. #64 Max Hinnisdaels (AUBURN) 6-3, 6-4
2. Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) def. Carles Sarrio (AUBURN) 6-1, 6-4
3. Beck Pennington (UK) def. Conner Huertas (AUBURN) 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 1-0 (13-11)
4. #75 Nils Ellefsen (UK) def. Edward Nguyen (AUBURN) 6-4, 6-0
5. Olle Thestrup (AUBURN) def. Enzo Wallart (UK) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (12-10)
6. Trey Yates (UK) def. Brandon Laubser (AUBURN) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
Doubles competition
1. #70 Beck Pennington/Enzo Wallart (UK) def. #9 Max Hinnisdaels/Conner Huertas (AUBURN) 6-3
2. Will Bushamuka/Nils Ellefsen (UK) def. Edward Nguyen/Brandon Laubser (AUBURN) 6-0
3. Trey Yates/Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) def. Dante Saleh/Olle Thestrup (AUBURN) 5-4
Match Notes:
Auburn 9-7, 1-2 SEC
Kentucky 12-6, 3-2 SEC; National ranking #17
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,1,2,3,6,5)
Official: Larry Stone

Quotes from Kentucky’s recap
“We are starting to really come together in doubles,” head coach Cedric Kauffmann said. “Great win at No. 1 against a top-10 team in the country. William (Bushamuka) and Nils (Ellefsen) really stayed focused from start to finish and that was great to see.”

“I’m glad how Enzo and I are finally starting to play our game in doubles again,” Pennington said. “This was another good performance with the team and we’re already getting back on the saddle for Saturday against Mississippi State.”

“I think it was a solid performance from all the guys today,” Matsumura said. “We had great intensity in doubles and in my match, I’m happy that I played really well in the first set and was able to close it out when I was a little tight. We’re excited to play Mississippi State in two days and I think we are ready.”

“We started off well by everyone coming to play in the doubles and got that point on the board,” Yates said. “Getting first sets to fall our way on a lot of courts was good. Overall, I played a good match and was able to come out on top in the end.”

UCLA came back from dropping the doubles point to defeat Duke 4-3. Logan Staggs clinched the win at No. 4 with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 over TJ Pura and then Duke won both of the final two matches to make the final 4-3. Check out the Duke recap for full details on this match – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again no school does a more thorough job with its match recaps than Duke!

#10 UCLA 4, Duke 3
Mar 16, 2017 at Los Angeles, CA (Sunset Canyon Tennis Courts)
Doubles competition
1. #26 Redlicki/Zhu (UCLA) vs. Stachowiak/Furman (DU) 5-3, unfinished
2. Dickerson/Lapidus (DU) def. A. Rapp/Brymer (UCLA) 6-3
3. Mateas/Pura (DU) def. Cressy/Goldberg (UCLA) 6-4
Singles competition
1. Catalin Mateas (DU) def. #11 Gage Brymer (UCLA) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
2. #42 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. Spencer Furman (DU) 7-6 (9-7), 6-1
3. Evan Zhu (UCLA) def. #94 Nick Stachowiak (DU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Logan Staggs (UCLA) def. TJ Pura (DU) 6-0, 4-6, 6-3
5. Ryan Dickerson (DU) def. Austin Rapp (UCLA) 5-7, 6-2, 6-1
6. Maxime Cressy (UCLA) def. Jason Lapidus (DU) 6-4, 6-2
Match Notes:
Duke 8-6
UCLA 10-4; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (6,3,2,4,5,1)
T-2:51 

TCU capped off its four-match road trip with a fourth win after defeating Pepperdine 4-1. TCU took the doubles point and Cameron Norrie, Alex Rybakov, and Reese Stalder won in straight sets while Pepperdine picked up a win from Dane Esses at No. 6. Cameron Norrie is now 10-0 on the year and has won 20 of 21 sets plus of those 20 sets he’s won 14 of them have been 6-0, 6-1, or 6-2. 

#22 TCU 4, Pepperdine University 1
Mar 16, 2017 at Malibu, Calif. (Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #23 Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. Hadlich, Guilherme (PEP) 6-0, 6-1
2. #84 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. Pane, Lautaro (PEP) 6-2, 6-3
3. Menichella, Stefan (PEP) vs. #110 Jerry Lopez (TCU) 2-6, 6-1, 3-3, unfinished
4. Iamachkine, Pedro (PEP) vs. #93 Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) 3-6, 6-2, 2-1, unfinished
5. Reese Stalder (TCU) def. Van Slyke, Jack (PEP) 7-5, 6-1
6. Esses, Dane (PEP) def. Gianni Mancini (TCU) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Reese Stalder/Jerry Lopez (TCU) def. Menichella, Stefan/Van Slyke, Jack (PEP) 6-4
2. #27 Alex Rybakov/Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) def. Hadlich, Guilherme/Sidney, Gabriel (PEP) 6-0
3. Iamachkine, Pedro/Pane, Lautaro (PEP) def. Cameron Norrie/Gianni Mancini (TCU) 6-4
Match Notes:
TCU 9-4; National ranking #22
Pepperdine University 4-7, 1-0
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,6,2,5)

Quotes from TCU’s recap
Head Coach David Roditi
“I was very pleased with our doubles performance today at all spots. That was a very important point. Cameron (Norrie) put us up 2-0 playing well and then things got a little tight. (Alex) Rybakov and Reese (Stalder) closing out the matches in two sets was important because we weren’t getting the performance we wanted out of the middle of the lineup. We will take a win any way we can. Pepperdine is tough and well coached which puts a lot of pressure on all opponents. We have a few more weeks before we start the toughest tennis conference and we need to continue to improve if we want to compete for the conference title again. We had great support here in southern California from family, parents, other TCU athletes and alumni.”

The San Diego Spring Break Tournament got underway on Thursday and I have all the results on my event page so click here to see those along with tomorrow’s schedule.