No. 6 Gamecocks Roll Through No. 5 Vanderbilt, 4-0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – South Carolina sophomore Kennedy Wicker notched the first ranked win of her career in Carolina’s, 4-0, blanking of Vanderbilt on Friday evening at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Complex.
The defeat snapped No. 6 Carolina’s three-match losing streak to the Commodores, moving them to 11-3 overall and 6-1 in the SEC. No. 5 Vanderbilt is now 5-2 in conference play and 10-5 on the season.
“It was a battle out there (Friday) and we were fortunate enough to edge out some closely contested matches at the end,” head coach Kevin Epley said. “Vanderbilt is a very strong team, especially at home, and I am happy that we were able to absorb everything they threw at us and step up when we needed to get the clinch.”
Playing at the No. 1 position, the No. 1-ranked duo of Ingrid Gamarra Martins and Mia Horvit easily topped Emma Kurtz and Emily Smith, 6-1.
Competing against the No. 37-ranked pair of Fernanda Contreras and Summer Dvorak, Megan Davies and Wicker fought against the ranked Commodores, but ultimately fell, 6-4, on court three.
With the No. 2 spot the only one left on, Paige Cline and Rachel Rohrabacher were battling with No. 49 Georgia Drummy and Christina Rosca in a tiebreaker. In a match that went back and forth, the Gamecocks found themselves up, 5-4. Locked at 6-6, Cline and Rohrabacher stormed to a, 7-6 (4), win, claiming their team’s eighth-straight doubles point and putting their team up, 1-0, heading into singles.
Facing off in a top-10 battle on court one singles, No. 7 Gamarra Martins and No. 6 Contreras played a close first set. Gamarra Martins was able to outlast her higher-ranked opponent, taking the set, 7-5. Closing it out with a, 6-4, second-set win, Gamarra Martins was first off the court, giving her team a, 2-0, lead.
At the No. 6 position, Wicker took an easy first set over No. 97-ranked Smith, 6-2. In the second set, Wicker was trailing, 4-1. She then came back and tied it, 4-4, gaining momentum. In the end, Wicker pulled out the win, topping her ranked opponent, 6-2, 7-6 (4), and extending South Carolina’s lead, 3-0.
Playing opposite another top-20 opponent, No. 37 Cline downed No. 13 Rosca in the first set, 6-2. Cline fell behind Rosca, 4-1, in the second set before turning on the jets and tying the set, 5-5. Cline took a, 6-5, advantage, but the Commodore fought back, bringing the second set to 6-6. In the tiebreaker, Cline was up, 5-2, but Rosca won two-straight, making it close, 5-4. Cline then claimed two points in-a-row, taking the second set, 7-6 (4). Her, 6-2, 7-6 (4), win clinched the overall match for the Gamecocks, 4-0.
Next, Carolina heads to Lexington, Ky., for a matchup with No. 23 Kentucky at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
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