Women's Tennis . January 30, 2021

South Carolina Drops 4-1 Decision at No. 14 Virginia

Gamecocks Close Out Non-Conference Play Hosting Furman on Feb. 10

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — South Carolina’s 18th-ranked women’s tennis team suffered a 4-1 setback at No. 14 Virginia on Saturday at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va.

The Gamecocks dropped to 3-3 on the season with the loss, while the Cavaliers improved to 3-1.

Doubles Recap

The Gamecocks picked up the first victory in doubles thanks to Ana Cruz and Allie Gretkowski at the three spot. They made short work of Amber O’Dell and Hibah Shaikh with a 6-1 victory to improve to 2-0 together this spring.

Virginia answered back quickly, though, on court two with Sofia Munera and Natasha Subhash registering a 6-2 triumph over No. 20 Silvia Chinellato and Emma Shelton. The top-ranked duo for the Gamecocks fell to 1-1 this year and 4-4 overall.

On the deciding court at the top of the lineup, the Gamecocks’ 29th-ranked Mia Horvit and Megan Davies had a 4-3 advantage on Rosie Johanson and Emma Navarro. The Cavaliers then claimed the next two games to take a 5-4 advantage and after Horvit and Davies tied things up at 5-all, Johanson and Navarro got the next two games to seal the doubles point for Virginia by a 7-5 score.

Singles Recap

The Cavaliers took control of the singles by winning the first sets on courts two, three, five and six. Amber O’Dell, ranked No. 104, responded from her loss in doubles by taking down Ana Cruz at six singles 6-3, 6-1 to push the Cavaliers’ lead to 2-0.

Virginia’s No. 47 Rosie Johanson made it 3-0 after she dropped No. 93 Emma Shelton by a 6-4, 6-3 score on court three, but the Gamecocks answered back at No. 4 singles. Silvia Chinellato managed to hold off Hibah Shaikh 6-4, 6-2 to pick up her third win in a row.

At the top position, No. 34 Mia Horvit for the Gamecocks breezed through her first set against No. 80 Emma Navarro with a 6-1 win. The match then completely turned in Navarro’s favor, as she went on to win the next two sets 6-0, 6-1 to give Virginia its third win of the season.

The final two matches on courts two and five were suspended with the team outcome decided. At two, No. 30 Megan Davies of South Carolina lost the first set to No. 11 Natasha Subhash 6-3, but Davies held a 6-5 advantage in the second set when play stopped. At No. 5 singles, the Gamecocks’ Allie Gretkowski recovered from her 6-3 loss in the first set to Vivian Glozman to win the second 6-1. The match was tied at 4-all in the third when Navarro scored the clinching point at one singles.

Notes

Virginia marked South Carolina’s fourth consecutive ACC opponent, as the Gamecocks took on NC State, Georgia Tech and Clemson prior to Saturday’s match.
South Carolina had its four-match unbeaten streak against the Cavaliers snapped. The Gamecocks lead the all-time series by a 9-4 margin and are 2-4 in Charlottesville, Va.
Silvia Chinellato registered the Gamecocks’ lone point on the day, and she now leads the team in singles victories this spring with a 4-2 record. She has also won three straight in singles.
Ana Cruz and Allie Gretkowski combined for South Carolina’s one victory in doubles at the three spot. Both players have four wins individually in doubles this spring to tie for the team lead.