No. 7 Gamecocks Down No. 16 Tennessee, 4-1

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina senior Ingrid Gamarra Martins, junior Mia Horvit and sophomore Kennedy Wicker all went undefeated on Friday afternoon in Carolina’s downing of Tennessee, 4-1, at the Carolina Tennis Center.
 
With the defeat, the No. 7 Gamecocks remain perfect in SEC play, 5-0, and are now 10-2 overall. No. 16 Tennessee drops to 12-4 on the season and is 2-2 in SEC matches.
 
“We knew Tennessee was going to be very tough,” head coach Kevin Epley said. “They’ve been having a great season. They played very well and competed very hard. There was no resignation in them at all. They almost turned it at the end there, but we did a good job on enough courts that we got the job done. Thankfully, Mia stepped up and took that match when it counted.”
 
On court three, sophomore Megan Davies and Wicker dropped their first game to Rebeka Mertena and Johanna Silva. The duo then stormed to a commanding, 6-1, win after taking six games in-a-row. With the victory, Davies and Wicker have now won six-straight matches.
 
Facing off in a top-10 battle, No. 7 Gamarra Martins and Horvit and No. 8 Sadie Hammond and Kaitlin Staines went back-and-forth at the No. 1 spot. With a, 5-3, lead, it looked like the Gamecocks would take the next game and end it. Hammond and Staines fought back, bringing the match to 5-4. Gamarra Martins and Horvit were able to get it done against the No. 8 team, winning, 6-4, and clinching the sixth-straight doubles point for Carolina.
 
Fresh off of a doubles win, No. 9 Gamarra Martins topped No. 65 Hammond in identical sets, 6-2, 6-2. Gamarra Martins’ victory on court one put the Gamecocks up, 2-0, and extended her win streak to seven matches.
 
At the No. 6 position, Wicker was consistent with her 6-1 wins, defeating Maia Haumuller, 6-1, 6-1, and extending the lead to 3-0 in favor of South Carolina. Wicker has won three-consecutive matches and is undefeated in SEC play.
 
Competing on court four, Megan Davies fell to Rebeka Mertena, 6-4, 6-2, with Tennessee seeing their only team point on the day.
 
With just one point left to clinch, No. 99 Horvit had already taken her first set, 6-3, over Silva at the No. 3 spot. In the second set, the two were battling toe-to-toe. Horvit eventually topped the Volunteer, 6-4, clinching the match for Carolina, 4-1.
 
Up next, the Gamecocks host No. 2-ranked Georgia at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the Carolina Tennis Center.
 
Continue to check back with gamecocksonline.com for more updates or follow the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).