JACKSONVILLE – After winning on the road last weekend in dramatic fashion, Gamecock men's tennis returns home this weekend for a huge doubleheader at the Jax State Tennis Courts. Friday's matches against The Citadel and Dartmouth will begin at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. respectively as the team looks to kick off Spring Break with wins against two quality opponents.
 
"I want to see a group of guys that continue to get better," head coach Trey Morris said. "We're trending in the right direction and our guys are continuing to improve. If we keep seeing that from our guys this weekend, we'll have success at home."
 
Jacksonville State (9-6) won its second match in its last three tries on Saturday in Hattiesburg, Miss., shocking Southern Miss in a late 4-3 comeback. After the Golden Eagles took the doubles point, Morris' squad ripped off four singles results to take the tight affair. Senior Liam Day clinched the match at No. 6 doubles, scoring a three-set comeback for the ages to close out an exhilarating contest. Now, the group will look to defend its home turf in the team's penultimate home events of the Spring 2024 campaign.
 
A solid mix of experience and youth have produced thus far for the Red-and-White. Veterans Vanja Dobrnjac and Xavier Sarda Marti lead the team with nine singles wins each, but first-year Gamecocks Day and Marko Milosavljevic are just behind them with seven victories. Furthermore, Dobrnjac is tops on the squad with seven doubles triumphs, but freshmen Milosavljevic and Zach Murphy trail him by just one triumph. Each of those playmakers will look for matches to remember as they welcome The Citadel (6-14) and Dartmouth (7-6) to Calhoun County this weekend.
 
The Citadel has faced a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule to this point of the Spring. Though they have lost 14 times, the vast majority of those defeats came against ranked foes like No. 5 Tennessee, No. 16 South Carolina, and No. 23 Florida. They added their first Division I win of the year last weekend against UNC Greensboro and come into Friday on a three-match winning streak.
 
"They have one of the best coaches historically in the country leading their program," Morris said. "Coach Kriese is one of the winningest coaches in college tennis. He always has his team ready and in a good place to compete. We're expecting a battle from them."
 
Dartmouth, an Ivy League power, won 11 matches but went just 1-6 in conference play last year. This season they have already collected big wins over the likes of Boston University, Indiana, and Purdue, but have also fallen to quality opponents in Liberty, Penn, and William & Mary. They split last Saturday's matches against NJIT and Bryant and will look for their first road win of 2024 this weekend.
 
"Dartmouth has had plenty of success of late," Morris said. "The Ivy League is a very good conference for men's tennis, so we know it'll tough against them."
 
Jax State is 4-2 all-time versus The Citadel but the two sides have not met since March 2014. The Bulldogs will make their first ever trip to Jacksonville, Ala., for Friday's pairing. The Gamecocks and Big Green have no prior meetings.
 
Admission is free and the team is providing free coffee and donuts during Friday's first match and free pizza during the doubleheader finale. Fans unable to attend can follow along with the live stats links for Monday's match at JaxStateSports.com.
 
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