Gamecocks Conclude 2021 Season at NCAA Championships

ORLANDO, Fla. — The South Carolina women’s tennis team concluded the 2021 season Monday playing in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships in Orlando, Fla., at the USTA National Campus. Mia Horvit lost her second-round singles match in three sets and then fell in three sets later in the day in the opening round of doubles with partner Megan Davies.

The 30th-ranked Horvit took on No. 33 Emma Antonaki from Mississippi State in the round of 32. Down a break at 5-3 in the first set, Horvit broke back to close the margin to 5-4, but Antonaki managed to get a set point on Horvit’s serve at 30-40 in the next game. Horvit stayed calm and following an unforced error from Antonaki, Horvit hit a blistering serve down the T on deuce that Antonaki barely got her racket on to make it 5-all. Both players then broke each other’s serves in the next two games to send the first set to a tiebreak. Horvit was dominant in the breaker, winning the first four points en route to a 7-2 victory.

In the second set, Antonaki jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Horvit got a game. Antonaki eventually got the advantage to 5-2, but Horvit responded like she did in the first and was able to close the gap to 5-4. This time, though, Antonaki closed out the set on her serve for a 6-4 win to force a third.

Horvit opened the third set with a hold of serve, but Antonaki did likewise and then broke Horvit for a 2-1 lead at the changeover. From there, Antonaki went ahead 3-1, but Horvit claimed the next two games to tie up the score at 3-all. Antonaki got a crucial break to lead 4-3 and then held for a 5-3 advantage. Horvit kept herself alive by holding serve to make the score 5-4, but Antonaki served out the match to post a 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4 final.

Later in the day in doubles, Horvit and Davies, ranked 14th, took on No. 9-ranked and No. 5-8 seed Chloe Beck and Karolina Berankova from Duke. Beck and Berankova won the first set 6-4, but the Gamecocks responded by taking the second set with a key break of serve at 3-all. Both teams held serve the rest of the way for a 6-4 South Carolina win. A super tiebreak decided the third set and Duke got off to a 4-0 lead that proved to be too much for Carolina to overcome. Still down 8-4, Horvit and Davies eventually trailed by just a point, 9-8, but Duke got the mini break of serve on Horvit to close out the contest with a 6-4, 4-6, 1-0(8) victory.