Women's Tennis Takes Down #21 Clemson in Late-Night Thriller

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina women’s tennis team claimed four singles victories in a comeback thriller to upset No. 21 Clemson, 4-3, on Wednesday night at the Carolina Outdoor Tennis Center.

The South Carolina duo of Taylor Goetz and Jana Stojanova finished first on court five, falling 6-2 to Clemson’s pair. From the first position, the No. 37 duo of Lauren Friedman and Helena Buchwald upset the Tigers’ No. 23 duo to earn the Gamecocks first doubles win. Ultimately, the doubles point came down to court one, where Jane Dunyon and Kaitlyn Carnicella lost in a hard-fought battle, 7-6(3). 

After falling on four courts in the first set, South Carolina stormed back to take each court’s second frame, pushing a third set. Helena Buchwald secured the first singles point, coming back from a 0-6 deficit in the first frame, leveling at 6-2 in the second frame and clinching the point 6-2 in the third. Sara Borkop dropped court three in a three-set battle to give Clemson back the 2-1 lead. No. 80 Kaitlyn Carnicella secured Carolina’s second singles point in comeback fashion. She fell 1-6 in the first set before pushing back 6-3, and eventually took the final frame 6-4 to even the match at 2-2 overall.  Jane Dunyon was one of two Gamecocks to win in her first set (6-4) but fell in the second (2-6) before storming back 7-5 to give South Carolina the point and the first lead of the match 3-2. Jana Stojanova dropped her match on court six to even the score 3-3. It all came down to court four, where Taylor Goetz sealed the Gamecocks’ win with an upset win over Clemson’s No. 124-ranked singles player. Goetz fought hard in the first set, 7-6(4), but eventually fell in the second, 7-5. In the third set, Goetz powered through, grabbed the final set, 6-1, and secured the upset for the Gamecocks.

The Gamecocks stay home to host a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 14, with the first match against Charlotte at 10 a.m. and the second against South Carolina State at 1 p.m. 

South Carolina 4, No. 21 Clemson 3

Doubles (order of finish: 3, 1, 2)

1. No. 37 Lauren Friedman & Helena Buchwald (USC) def. No. 23 Jade Groen & Rinon Okuwaki 6-2
2. Gaia Parravicini & Romana Cisovska (CU) def. Kaitlyn Carnicella & Jane Dunyon (USC) 7-6(3)
3. Talia Neilson-Gatenby & Artemis Aslanisvili (CU) def. Taylor Goetz & Jana Stojanova (USC) 6-2

Singles (orders of finish: 2, 3, 1, 5, 6, 4)

1. No. 80 Kaitlyn Carnicella (USC) def. Jade Groen (CU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. Helena Buchwald (USC) def. Romana Cisovska (CU) 0-6, 6-4, 6-2
3. Rinon Okuwaki (CU) def. Sara Borkop (USC) 2-6, 1-6, 6-1
4. Taylor Goetz (USC) def. No. 124 Ria Bhakta (CU) 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-1
5. Jane Dunyon (USC) def. Talia Neilson-Gatenby (CU) 6-4, 2-6, 7-5
6. Artemis Aslanisvili (CU) def. Jana Stojanova (USC) 4-6, 3-6, 6-2