March 20, 2016
COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 9 South Carolina women’s tennis improved to 6-0 in SEC play with a 4-1 victory over No. 37 Ole Miss on Sunday at the Gillom Sports Center in Oxford, Miss. Carolina took the doubles point and collected wins on three of four singles courts, including three-set wins at No. 2 and No. 4, to come out with the victory.
With the win, South Carolina improves to 14-2 on the season and 6-0 in SEC play for the first time in program history. Its current nine-match winning streak is the program’s longest since 1999. Sophomore Hadley Berg, who clinched the match with a dramatic victory at No. 4, improves to 14-0 this spring, marking the best start by a Gamecock since 1995. The Rebels fall to 8-5, 1-5 in the SEC.
After dropping their first doubles match of the spring on Friday, No. 54 Berg and freshman Paige Cline put together their most impressive performance of the season in a 6-0 route of No. 27 Arianne Hartono and Mai El Kamush at court one. The Gamecocks then won the doubles point for the 12th time this spring with a 6-3 win at No. 2 by juniors Brigit Folland and Caroline Dailey.
Singles play began with Dailey falling to No. 49 Arianne Hartono, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 1. Cline, however, would move the Gamecocks in front once again with a 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 62 Mai El Kamash at No. 3, marking her highest-ranked victory of her young career.
The Gamecocks clinched the match with gutsy efforts from freshman Ingrid Gamarra Martins and Berg. Martins dropped her first set before winning her second and then trailed 2-4 in the third before coming back to take the match, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. Berg’s result was nearly identical as she dropped her first set and faced a 2-5 deficit in the third, but managed to win five straight games to take her match, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, and give South Carolina the victory.
Quotable
Head Coach Kevin Epley
“This team keeps showing heart when the chips are down. It was a really tough weekend against two very strong opponents, and there were moments in each of these matches when we thought the tide was turning the other way. This team just refuses to give up. Todays, we got our doubles back on track at No. 1 and No. 2, which was good to see as well. We are very excited about getting to work this week to get ready for Florida.”
Match Changer
Freshman Ingrid Gamarra Martins and sophomore Hadley Berg both came back to win in their second sets after dropping their first, only to find themselves in a hole in their third sets. Martins was able to rally from down 2-4 in the third to win 6-4, and Berg came back from down 2-5 in the third to win 7-5 and clinch the match for the Gamecocks.
Notables
- The Gamecocks have won eight straight matches against ranked opponents in as many tries and are 11-1 against ranked opponents overall.
- Carolina is a combined 26-2 in the No. 4 and 5 spots of the singles lineup this spring.
- Sophomore Hadley Berg has won back-to-back matches against ranked players, defeating the nation’s No. 51 player Saturday before topping No. 73 Tea Jandric today.
- Freshman Ingrid Gamarra Martins earned her 20th win of the season and leads the team in three-set wins with five.
- The 54th-ranked doubles tandem of Paige Cline and Hadley Berg is 8-1 this spring and 4-1 in the SEC.
Up Next
Carolina returns home for a four-match home stand, featuring three SEC contests over the span of eight days. The Gamecocks take on No. 13 Florida on Sat., March 26, at 1 p.m., before battling No. 14 Texas A&M on Thurs., March 31, at 5 p.m. A doubleheader with LSU and the College of Charleston will take place on Sat., April 2, with the Gamecocks and Tigers set to clash at Noon. Parking and attendance at all home matches are free.
