March 19, 2016
STARKVILLE, Miss. — The back half of the lineup came up big down the stretch as No. 9 South Carolina women’s tennis posted a dramatic 4-3 win over No. 22 Mississippi State on Saturday at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre in Starkville, Miss. The Gamecocks, who dropped the doubles point Friday night before rain suspended play until Saturday, took wins at positions three through six in the lineup with three of the four wins in third sets.
With the win, South Carolina moves to 13-2 for the first time since 1995 and 5-0 in SEC play for the first time in program history. The Gamecocks are now 5-0 against top-25 opponents and 3-0 against top-30 opponents on the road.
The match got underway Friday night amidst cloudy skies. The Gamecock doubles tandem of senior Ximena Siles Luna and freshman Ingrid Gamarra Martins quickly earned a 6-2 win over No. 7 Kristina Vozniak and Jennifer Brown at court three. The Bulldogs, however, stormed back to take the doubles point with a 6-3 win at court two and a 6-4 win at court one.
Singles play had barely gotten underway when heavy rain and lightning hit the area, forcing the match to be carried out Saturday. The Gamecocks came out refocused, claiming four first sets in singles. No. 110 Paige Cline was first to get off the court as she scored a 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 3 to pull the Gamecocks even at 1-1. Mississippi State would jump back in front as No. 9 Jasmine Lee defeated No. 109 Caroline Dailey, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1.
With the Bulldogs leading 2-1, each of the four remaining courts would go to a third set. As she has for much of the season, junior Brigit Folland set the tone by closing out her third set and winning, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 at No. 5. Siles Luna then displayed her senior leadership to give the Gamecocks their first lead of the match with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory at No. 6.
Freshman Ingrid Gamarra Martins led early in her third set before falling to No. 86 Georgianna Patrasc, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3, at No. 2, leveling the score at 3-3. All eyes turned to court four where sophomore Hadley Berg’s perfect record was on the line as she looked to deliver the win for the Garnet and Black. The California native stepped up to take the third set and clinch the match for the Gamecocks with a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3 triumph of No. 51 Anastasia Rentouli.
Quotable
Head Coach Kevin Epley:
“Mississippi State is a heck of a team. We were very impressed with their fight, and they pushed us to the limit. We have been winning a lot of 4-3 matches with big individual wins at three-all, and today it was Hadley’s turn. We are fighting very hard, but still don’t think we are playing our best tennis yet. I’m very proud of the heart the team is showing. We are going to keep focusing on getting better each match.”
Match Changer
South Carolina came through when it mattered most as it earned three-set victories at courts four, five and six.
Notables
- The Gamecocks are 2-0 against top-10 teams and 6-0 against top-30 opponents this season.
- South Carolina won its second consecutive match after losing the doubles point.
- Carolina is a combined 25-2 in the No. 4 and 5 spots of the singles lineup this spring.
- Sophomore Hadley Berg’s 13-0 start in singles this spring is the best start by a Gamecock since 1995.
- Berg earned her first ranked victory of the season, defeating the nation’s No. 51 player.
- Junior Brigit Folland has racked up nine straight victories en route to a 12-1 spring record.
- The doubles tandem of Paige Cline and Hadley Berg fell for the first time after compiling seven straight wins to begin the season.
Up Next
Carolina continues its road trip as it travels to No. 37 Ole Miss on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Gamecocks pulled out a close victory against the Rebels last season, 4-2.
