Horvit Moves on at NCAA Singles Championship

ORLANDO, Fla. — Mia Horvit from the South Carolina women’s tennis team earned a straight-set victory Sunday in the first round of the NCAA Singles Championship in Orlando, Fla., at the USTA National Campus. Megan Davies, who made her first appearance in the tournament, dropped her opening-round match in straight sets.

Horvit, ranked No. 30 and making her second appearance in the event, fell behind a break at 4-3 in the first set against No. 102 Paola Delgado from VCU, but she fought back and eventually set herself up with a chance to serve out the first set up 6-5. Horvit controlled the game from the beginning to take the first set and then coasted in the second. She set the tone early by breaking Delgado’s serve in the first game and never looked back. With a 5-0 lead, Delgado looked like she might take a game with Horvit serving 0-30, but Horvit claimed the next three rallies for match point. Delgado pushed the game to deuce before Horvit finished off the contest for a 7-5, 6-0 victory to reach the round of 32.

Horvit will face No. 33 Emma Antonaki from Mississippi State in the second round on Monday. Antonaki grabbed a 6-4, 6-4 upset win against No. 12-ranked and No. 9-16 seed Giulia Pairone from Florida State in the first round.

Davies took on No. 84 Ilze Hattingh from Arizona State and fell behind early in the first set 3-0 before finding her stride, but Hattingh hung on for a 6-3 win. In the second, Davies jumped out to a 3-0 lead and still led 4-1 after five games. Hattingh responded by closing the margin to 5-4 and then broke Davies as she tried to serve out the set. After both players held serve to force a tiebreak, Hattingh snatch a commanding 4-0 advantage to open the breaker, however, Davies closed the gap to 4-2 heading to the changeover. Hattingh’s big early lead, though, was too much to overcome, as she held on to take the match 6-3, 7-6(3).

Horvit and Davies begin play in the NCAA Doubles Championship on Monday taking on No. 9-ranked Chloe Beck and Karolina Berankova of Duke in the round of 32. Beck and Berankova are one of four No. 5-8 seeds in the tournament. Horvit and Davies are ranked No. 14 in the nation.