Welcome back college tennis fans to our weekly SEC recap. It’s another week in the books as we keep things moving this spring and our Cracked Racquets team is thrilled to be bringing all of you our SEC Cross Court Cast Coverage for a second consecutive year, streaming exclusively on SEC Network! This week, Editor-in-Chief of Cracked Racquets Alex Gruskin was joined by our Senior SEC Correspondent Chris Halioris for the Opening Day of conference play, with some brilliant storylines already popping up. Let’s take a look back at the biggest results of this past week and see what’s in store for the coming week.
Match of the Week
South Carolina def. Kentucky 4-3
What a way to kick off SEC play! In a matchup circled on everyone’s calendar, South Carolina headed down to Lexington and took home the win in a 4-3 thriller that showcased some brilliant shotmaking from both sides. The Gamecocks dominated in doubles action with Jake Beasley and James Story racing out to a 5-0 lead against #43 Joshua Lapadat & JJ Mercer, eventually winning the set 6-2 at the #2 Doubles spot. To secure the doubles point for South Carolina, #1 ranked Toby Samuel and Connor Thomson took a 6-4 set against the duo of Alafia Ayeni and Taha Baadi on the #1 court.
To start singles play, #27 Liam Draxl raced out to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over #6 Toby Samuel to even things up at 1-1 for Kentucky. However, James Story put South Carolina back in front after a tight 7-5, 7-5 win against #100 Taha Baadi at 4 singles. On the 3 singles court, #23 Joshua Lapadat continued his exceptional start to the season in a 6-4 6-3 win over #80 Raphael Lambling.
Once again, it was South Carolina edging ahead after #7 Connor Thomson grabbed a 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) win over #31 Alafia Ayeni, in a dramatic second-set tiebreak. In yet one more shift in momentum, it was Jaden Weekes who tied the proceedings in a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 comeback victory against #90 Casey Hoole. With a score of 3-3, it seemed as if everyone in the state of Kentucky had gathered around court 6 as Jake Beasley and #102 Charlelie Cosnet were locked in an enthralling deciding set.
Despite Cosnet’s best efforts at each passing shot, it was the veteran Beasley and his relentless net rushing who came out on top, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. With this 4-3 win, the Gamecocks earned their first win in Lexington since 2000, and have put themselves in a strong position to start conference play.
SEC Teams in the Rankings
SEC Men’s Teams
On the Men’s side, it was Kentucky, South Carolina, and Georgia holding steady in the top 10.
SEC Women’s Teams
There were three teams representing the SEC on the Women’s side as well with Texas A&M, Georgia, and Auburn in the Top 10 of this week’s rankings.
Upcoming Marquee Matchup
#14 Auburn at #18 Mississippi State
Where: Starkville, MS
When: Thurs. March 9th, 2023
What time: 4:00 PM ET
Players to watch for in this matchup: #103 Tyler Stice (AU), #107 Petar Jovanovic (MS), #113 Carles Hernandez (MS)
How to watch: Cracked Racquets SEC Cross Court Coverage on SECN/ESPN+
