COLUMBIA, S.C.  –  The No. 20 Florida State men’s tennis team dropped 4-3 to No. 13 South Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Team Championship. 

The day began with the closest doubles round of the season. Jamie Connel and Jan Sebesta relished the promotion to Court 2 and displayed their best performance of the season, cruising to a quick 6-2 win. The duo knocked off a top-60 doubles pairing for their second career ranked win and moved to 2-0 on Court 2.

Courts 1 and 3 were split at 5-5 with the first point of the match up for grabs. Corey Craig and Erik Schiessl won three straight games down 5-2 to level the score before ultimately dropping the match 7-5. 

Youcef Rihane and Joshua Dous-Karpenschif traded games to find themselves at a first-set tiebreaker. The seniors marched out to a 4-1 lead before managing through the remaining tiebreaker and sealed the doubles point. The All-Americans upset the No. 3 pairing in the nation.

South Carolina responded with four first-set victories to shift the momentum. The Gamecocks leveled the match with a straight-set victory on Court 1.

Connel was in form from the opening game, growing large leads and finishing with precision. Following the 6-3 first set, Connel grabbed a firm handle of the match and closed the door with a 6-2 second set to reestablish the lead. 

Connel hit the quarter-century mark with his 25th singles win of the season, marking three consecutive seasons of 25+ win seasons. South Carolina won in straight sets on Court 6 to tie the score at 2-2.

Rihane laid down the marker with a convincing 6-2 first set before managing the second frame 6-4 to earn the lead for a third time. Rihane finished his career unbeaten in nine of his last 10 matches and eclipsed over 75 career singles wins. The Gamecocks leveled the match after a straight-set win on Court 4.

The match would be decided on Court 3, Erik Schiessl dropped the opening set 6-3 before outlasting his opponent in the second-set tiebreaker 7-5. The match was level at 3-3 in the third set before Schiessl required a medical timeout. South Carolina was awarded two games due to a medical delay of game before serving out the final game.

Florida State concludes its 2025 campaign after a strong season. FSU achieved its fourth consecutive 15+ win season following an 18-8 season. The Seminoles earned nine wins in conference play for the first time since 2018 and reached the ACC Championship quarterfinals for a 13th consecutive completed season. Head coach Dwayne Hultquist led the Seminoles to their 21st appearance in the tournament in the past 22 completed seasons and reached the second round for a seventh consecutive appearance. 

#13 South Carolina 4, #20 Florida State 3

Singles Competition: 

#18 Connor Thompson (SCAR) def. #14 Corey Craig (FSU) 6-2, 6-1

#44 Jamie Connel (FSU) def. Lucas Andrade da Silva (SCAR) 6-3, 6-2

#117 Sean Daryabeigi (SCAR) def. Erik Schiessl (FSU) 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3

Atakan Karahan (SCAR) def. Joshua Dous-Karpenschif (FSU) 6-3, 7-5

Youcef Rihane (FSU) def. Jelani Sarr (SCAR) 6-2, 6-4

Gabe Avram (SCAR) def. Azariah Rusher (FSU) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles Competition:

Youcef Rihane/Joshua Dous-Karpenschif (FSU) def. #3 Connor Thompson/Lucas Andrade da Silva (SCAR) 7-6 (5)

Jamie Connel/Jan Sebesta (FSU) def. #56 Atakan Karahan/Jelani Sarr (SCAR) 6-2

Sean Daryabeigi/Max Stenzer (SCAR) def. Corey Craig/Erik Schiessl (FSU) 7-5

Florida State (19-9, 9-4 ACC) | South Carolina (21-7, 11-3 SEC)

Order of Finish: Doubles (2, 3, 1) Singles (1, 2, 6, 5, 4, 3)

For more information on the Florida State men’s tennis program, check Seminoles.com and follow us on social media at Florida State Men’s Tennis (FB) and FSUMTennis (IG and X).