No. 16 Women's Tennis Falls to No. 1 Georgia

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 16 South Carolina women’s tennis team fell, 4-1, to No. 1 Georgia at home in its SEC opener on Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs took an early lead when they earned the doubles point.

Kaitlyn Carnicella and Jane Dunyon dropped to a 3-1 deficit on court one to start the match. The pair cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 4-3, but ultimately fell 6-3, giving Georgia the advantage. Jana Stojanova and Sara Borkop lost three close sets to open their match, but stormed back to win four straight and take a 4-3 lead on court five. Stojanova and Borkop defeated Georgia’s Emily Deming and Mayden Mulberry 6-4 for their third win as a duo, forcing the deciding match on court two.

No. 18 Lauren Friedman and Helena Buchwald jumped out to a 4-1 lead from the first position, but couldn’t fend off Georgia’s comeback attempt. The Bulldogs tied the match at 5-5, and then again at 6-6. Georgia’s No. 8 pair of Deniz Dilek & Aysegul Mert took the tiebreak set 7-3 to clinch the doubles point.

Moving into singles play, the Gamecocks picked up two first sets win on courts two and six. Buchwald took her set 6-2 and Stojanova took hers 6-4. Buchwald won her second set 6-4 to upset No. 7 Aysegul Mert and get South Carolina on the board. Taylor Goetz dropped her match in straight sets to Georgia’s No. 30 Anastasiia Gurvea, while Carnicella fell in similar fashion to No. 48 Anastasiia Lopata. The Bulldogs clinched their victory with a win on court five, when Dunyon lost the first set in a super tie break and then fell 6-3 in the second. Sara Borkop’s match was left unfinished on court three, after she battled back from a opening set sweep to take the second set 6-4. Stojanova’s was left unfinished on court six as well, where she won her opening set and was still battling for the second.

No. 1 Georgia 4, No. 16 South Carolina 1

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

1. No. 8 Deniz Dilek & Aysegul Mert (UGA) def. No. 18 Helena Buchwald & Lauren Friedman (USC) 7-6 (3)
2. No. 77 Anastasiia Lopata & Patricija Paukstyte (UGA) def. Kaitlyn Carnicella & Jane Dunyon (USC) 6-3
3. Jana Stojanova & Sara Borkop (USC) def. Emily Deming & Mayden Mulberry (UGA) 6-4

Singles (order of finish: 2,4,1,5)

1. No. 48 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) def. No. 63 Kaitlyn Carnicella (USC) 6-4, 6-4
2. Helena Buchwald (USC) def. No. 7 Aysegul Mert (UGA) 6-2, 6-4
3. Sara Borkop (USC) led No. 41 Deniz Dilek (UGA) 0-6, 6-4, 2-2 unfinished
4. No. 30 Anastasiia Gurvea (UGA) def. Taylor Goetz (USC) 6-3, 6-4
5. No. 52 Sofia Rojas (UGA) def. Jane Dunyon (USC) 7-6 (11-9), 6-3
6. Jana Stojanova (USC) led Emma Dong (UGA) 6-4, 5-6 unfinished