Columbus, Ohio - The University of Denver men's tennis team opened up competition at the 2016 ITA Kickoff today at the OSU Varsity Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio. The 52nd-ranked Pioneers defeated the 51st-ranked University of South Carolina 4-3.

Highlights from today's match include 45th-ranked Diogo Rocha (Lisbon, Portugal) defeated 116th-ranked Alex Fennell in a close singles match 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (4-7). Henry Craig (Murrieta, Calif.) beat 65th-ranked Harrison O'Keefe in his singles match 7-6 (6-3), 6-3.

David Fox (Surrey, United Kingdom) and Jesse Ruder-Hook (Denver, Colo.) teamed up to defeat Gabriel Friedrich/Yancy Dennis of South Carolina in their doubles match by a score of 6-1.

The Pioneers will be back in action tomorrow as they compete in day two of the ITA Kickoff against Ohio State University and Wichita State University, beginning at 11:00am MT.

Results from today's match:

Saturday, Jan. 23

Singles
1. #45 Diogo Rocha (DU) def. #116 Alex Fennell (SC) 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (4-7)
2. Henry Craig (DU) def. #65 Harrison O'Keefe (SC) 7-6 (6-3), 6-3
3. David Fox (DU) def. Andrew Schafer (SC) 6-3, 6-4
4. Thomas Mayronne (SC) def. Yannik James (DU) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2)
5. Alex Gasson (DU) def. Sam Swank (SC) 6-3, 6-2
6. Wood Benton (SC) def. Jesse Ruder-Hook (DU) 6-2, 6-4

Doubles
1. Alex Fennell/Thomas Mayronne (SC) def. #11 Henry Craig/Alex Gasson (DU) 7-5
2. Sam Swank/Harrison O'Keefe (SC) def. Diogo Rocha/Yannik James (DU) 6-4
3. David Fox/Jesse Ruder-Hook (DU) def. Gabriel Friedrich/Yancy Dennis (SC) 6-1

Match Notes:
Denver 0-0; National ranking #52
South Carolina 2-0; National ranking #51
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,3,6,2,4)