Six Gamecocks Pick Up Wins on Day One of the Debbie Southern Fall Classic
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The South Carolina women’s tennis team swept Flight 1 of doubles and five flights of singles on day one of the Debbie Southern Fall Classic hosted by Furman at the Mickel Tennis Center.
Ingrid Gamarra Martins and Mia Horvit each went undefeated, notching two doubles and one singles win. Paired up for Flight 1 doubles, the No. 20-ranked duo defeated Cameron Morra and Alexa Graham of North Carolina, 8-5. Playing a second match, they cruised to another win over Texas’ No. 21 duo of Petra Granic and Bojana Markovic, 8-4.
“Given the fact that we haven’t had a lot of practice time, we’re happy to come out of (Friday) with a good amount of singles wins against a tough field,” head coach Kevin Epley said. “We’re focusing on some of the things that we can do better and hoping to have a better absolute level of play (Saturday).”
Competing in Flight 1 singles, No. 45 Gamarra Martins outlasted No. 16-ranked Emma Davis of Wake Forest, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). No. 96 Horvit, who is playing in Flight 3 singles, topped Ohio State’s Isabelle Boulais in a pair of identical sets, 6-3, 6-3.
Paige Cline and Silvia Chinellato earned an 8-2 doubles win against Florida State’s No. 28-ranked tandem of Ana Oparenovic and Petra Hule in Flight 2. The team then dropped its second match against Kaitlyn McCarthy and Ema Lazik of Duke, 8-4.
In Flight 2 singles, Cline defeated Florida State’s No. 2-ranked newcomer Emmanuelle Salas in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. Chinellato also picked up a win over a ranked opponent after topping No. 80 Hule, 6-3, 6-1, in Flight 3 singles.
No. 81 Megan Davies prevailed in three sets, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, over Anna Brylin of Wake Forest to continue in Flight 5 singles.
Teaming up with Rachel Rohrabacher in Flight 3 doubles, Davies and her partner fell to Wake’s duo of Anna Ulyashchenko and Peyton Pesavento, 8-7 (7-5). The Gamecock pair then allowed Sara Lizariturry and Tamara Racine from Mississippi State only one game, winning the match, 8-1. In singles, Rohrabacher lost her Flight 6 match to Nandini Das of Florida State, 6-3, 6-4.
Playing in Flight 4 doubles, Giulia Turconi and Kennedy Wicker fought hard against Clemson’s Ally Miller-Krasilnikov and Sydney Riley, ultimately dropping the match, 8-7 (7-3). The duo then lost to Mary Meredith and Joanna Zalewski from Wake Forest, 8-3.
In her first singles match as a Gamecock, Turconi fell to the Tarheels’ Sophia Patel, 6-4, 6-4, in Flight 9. In Flight 7 singles, Wicker won her first set, 6-3. While trailing, 2-1, in her second set, the sophomore retired from her match against Georgia Tech’s Dilila Said.
Action for day two of the tournament begins at 9 a.m. Saturday morning with doubles matches.
Day 1 Results
Flight 1 Doubles
No. 20 Gamarra Martins/Horvit (USC) def. Morra/Graham (UNC) 8-5
No. 20 Gamarra Martins/Horvit (USC) def. No. 21 Granic/Markovic (Texas) 8-4
Flight 2 Doubles
Cline/Chinellato (USC) def. No. 28 Oparenovic/Hule (FSU) 8-2
McCarthy/Lazik (Duke) def. Cline/Chinellato (USC) 8-4
Flight 3 Doubles
Ulyashchenko/Pesavento (Wake) def. Davies/Rohrabacher (USC) 8-7 (7-5)
Davies/Rohrabacher (USC) def. Lizariturry/Racine (MSU) 8-1
Flight 4 Doubles
Miller/Riley (Clemson) def. Turconi/Wicker (USC) 8-7 (7-3)
Meredith/Zalewski (Wake) def. Turconi/Wicker (USC) 8-3
Flight 1 Singles
No. 45 Gamarra Martins (USC) def. No. 16 Davis (Wake) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
Flight 2 Singles
Cline (USC) def. No. 2 Salas (FSU) 6-3, 6-4
Flight 3 Singles
No. 96 Horvit (USC) def. Boulais (OSU) 6-3, 6-3
Flight 4 Singles
Chinellato (USC) def. No. 80 Hule (FSU) 6-3, 6-1
Flight 5 Singles
No. 81 Davies (USC) def. Brylin (Wake) 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
Flight 6 Singles
Das (FSU) def. Rohrabacher (USC) 6-3, 6-4
Flight 7 Singles
Said (GT) def. Wicker (USC) 3-6, 2-1, retire
Flight 9 Singles
Patel (UNC) def. Turconi (USC) 6-4, 6-4
