'Cats M. Tennis Hosts No. 20 Gamecocks to Open Spring Season

Saturday, January 20

Davidson, N.C.

3:30 p.m.

Davidson College Athletics

No. 20 South Carolina

'Cats M. Tennis Hosts No. 20 Gamecocks to Open Spring Season

1/17/2018 1:53:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Gavin McFarlin - Associate SID

Quick Facts
Record Book
DavidsonPhotos.com

DAVIDSON, N.C. — The 2018 Spring tennis season begins this weekend for Davidson as the men's team will open up against nationally-ranked South Carolina Saturday, Jan. 20, at 3 p.m. inside the Knobloch Tennis Center. There will be free pizza for the match for fans as they come out to cheer on the Wildcats.

The Gamecocks enter the Spring campaign ranked 20th in the first Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll. This is the highest ranked opponent the Wildcats have faced during head coach Drew Barrett's 12 years and it is the first time since 2015 they will open against a ranked opponent. During that season, the 'Cats opened at home against No. 24 Clemson.

Davidson has faced USC 19 ties dating back to 1988, with the most recent meeting taking place in 2012. South Carolina has won all 19 matches.

Senior Artem Khrapko will enter the season ranked 120th in the Oracle/ITA singles rankings. He is the first Wildcat during head coach Barrett's tenure at Davidson to be ranked in singles. For full details on the senior's rankings, click here to read more.

In anticipation of a strong year, below is a look at the Davidson Men's Tennis 2018 Season Preview ...

Entering their 12th year under the guidance of head coach Drew Barrett, the Wildcats will enter the 2018 campaign in its fourth year in the Atlantic 10 after a very strong campaign last year.

"It was a successful season for us last year," said Barrett. "We are looking forward to continuing that great success we had and build on it for this coming season. We always look forward to the challenge of a new season and I think the players are excited for this year, especially our senior class, as we look to take the next step in advancing in the league tournament."

The 2018 team returns a majority of its lineup from last year's 16-8 season with a mark of 4-2 in A-10 matches. It was the team's third straight four-win league season. In addition, it was the fourth time in the past five years the Wildcats collected 10 or more wins in a season. The 16 wins were the most in the regular season since 1994 when they had 16 as well. The 'Cats had 18 overall in 1998, earning three of those victories in the Southern Conference Tournament.

This year's club will feature the return of all eight letterwinners, including all five starters, as the Wildcats are set up for a great 2018 campaign.

Singles
Davidson picked up an outstanding 89 singles wins in 135 matches last year and netted 23 of those victories against A-10 opponents. The 89 wins were the most during the Barrett era, with Davidson earning 78 being the previous high in 2008.

Five players reached the double-digit wins mark, led by 18 from Axel Fries and a career-high 16 from David Hager. For the third year in a row, Artem Khrapko reached double figures with 12, and enters the season the first singles ranked player (120th) under Barrett. He is also the first singles ranked Wildcat since Hall of Famer Jon Pastel '98 was 40th in the nation in 1998.

•Senior David Hager: Named to the A-10 All-Second Team ... registered a career year by going 16-7 in singles to finish second on the team in wins at No. 2 ... opened the last season by winning first seven straight matches to set a personal best .. the 16 wins pushed career record to an impressive 41-17 overall ... all 16 wins came at No. 2 singles.
•Senior Shamael Chaudhry: Enjoyed another strong season a year ago, earning a spot on the A-10 All-First Team for the third straight year ... matched personal best with 12 singles wins at No. 1, going 12-11 ... had a 4-2 conference record ... registered winning streaks of six and four, respectively, last year.
•Senior Artem Khrapko: One of five Wildcats to reach double-digit wins in singles with a 12-8 record, playing positions 2-5 ... registered a 6-4 mark at No. 3, while going 3-0 at No. 5 ... closed out the season on a three-match win streak ... went 4-1 in matches that went three sets.
•Senior Jack Riazzi: Played two singles matches, splitting them ... earned a 6-2, 6-0 win vs. N.C. A&T at No. 6.
•Sophomore Axel Fries: Had a stellar first year, taking home the Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year honors to become the first Wildcat in program history to earn the award ... was named to the league's all-second team ... won A-10 Rookie of the Week a program-best five times ... given the team's Rob Palmer MVP award ... combined for 33 singles and doubles wins, going a team-best 18-5 in singles play at No. 3-5 positions ... got eight wins each at No. 3 and 5 positions, respectively, running off a team season-high 12-match win streak.
•Sophomore Kotaro Horiuchi: Did not play an official singles match as a freshman.
•Sophomore Thomas Mason: Given the team's Most Improved Award ... named to the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for both the Fall and Spring semesters ... in first season, saw action in 11 singles matches by going 6-5 at No. 5 and 6 ... tallied a 3-2 A-10 record ... went 5-5 at No. 6 singles.
•Sophomore Matthew Rose: Did not play an official singles match as a freshman.

Newcomers
Davidson added five freshmen to the roster for added depth.

•Kevin Huang: Four-year letterwinner at East Chapel Hill ... earned all-regional three times ... PAC-C Conference Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017 ... two-time team MVP (2016 & 2017) ... finished career with a 66-17 record, including a 20-11 mark during senior prep season.
•Alexander Loope: Played No. 1 singles position at Norfolk Collegiate School ... VISAA State Player of the Year in 2017 ... first-team all-state singles three times ... team co-captain junior and senior years ... Virginian Pilot Male Tennis Player of the Year ... Norfolk Collegiate 2016-2017 Male Athlete of the Year ... named MVP of team all four years.
•Douglas Macintosh: Four-year letterwiner at Merchiston Castle School ... played for school and Scotland at the World School finals in Qatar 2015 and Brazil 2017 ... reached quarterfinal of British grade one winter nationals ... won five from six singles matches and five from six doubles at school national finals.
•Camden Mazzoni: No. 1 singles player during prep career ... finished 24-1 in singles during senior season and had a 45-3 career record ... only player to win a MIAA South Championship at Dennis Yarmouth ... Boston Globe All-Scholastic (two-time), Boston Herald All-scholastic (two-time), MIAA South Individual Champion (two-time), MIAA state finalist, Atlantic Coast League All-Star (two-time).
•Yash Parikh: Played No. 1 position and earned four letters during prep career ... two-time individual state champion (sophomore and senior seasons) ... first player to win high school invitational all four years ... as senior, won the state individual title and went undefeated ... named Arizona Athlete of the Year by AZ Central newspaper as a senior.

Doubles
Davidson's doubles teams tallied 39 wins in 2017, getting 10 of those against Atlantic 10 opponents. The 39 wins were the most since collecting 32 in 2011. The 'Cats rotated through 11 doubles combinations.

• No. 1 position: The Wildcats return half of their top doubles team of Fries and Gough, with Gough having graduated ... the duo went a team-best 15-6 at the top spot and 5-1 in A-10 matches ... the duo had a team-high eight-match winning streak in the middle of the season.
• No. 2 position: The main No. 2 team of Chaudhry and Riazzi return after going 7-6 together (2-2 in A-10) ... Chaudhry also teamed up with Ricky Saad (2-0) and Hager (3-1) to earn another five wins, going a combined 5-1 with them at No. 2.
• No. 3 position: The Wildcats' used seven different teams at No. 3, combining to go 12-7 a year ago ... Hager and Khrapko played seven matches, going 3-4 ... Khrapko also scored two wins each with Saad and Jack Riazzi, while Riazzi teamed with Saad to go 2-0.

Schedule
Davidson will open its 2018 season with a four-match home stand, starting with a match against 20th ranked South Carolina, Jan. 22. The Wildcats will also play host to Gardner-Webb, Presbyterian and East Carolina from Jan. 25-Feb. 3. Overall, six of their first eight matches will be at home. Last year the Wildcats went 8-2 on its home courts, running off a seven-match win streak which was the longest since a seven-match string in 2013.

Other non-conference home matches feature Wingate, Radford, N.C. Central, Navy (first meeting ever), Appalachian State and College of Charleston.

Atlantic 10 play begins on the road against Duquesne, March 5, in a neutral site match in Lakeland, Fla. Davidson will face Saint Joseph's at home, March 11, before going back to the road for matches against George Mason and George Washington, March 24-25. A year ago the Wildcats collected a 7-0 win over the Hawks and a 4-2 win against the Patriots of George Mason.

Their final league match will be at home, April 22 against Richmond. The series is tied at 12-all dating back to 1988. The 'Cats have dropped their last three matches vs. the Spiders.

The Atlantic 10 Tournament takes place April 26-29 in Orlando, Fla, at USTA National Campus. Last year saw VCU take home the championship title for the first time since 2013 and stop the GW Colonials run of three straight. third year in a row and sixth overall since 2011.