Feb. 1, 2015

CLEMSON, S.C. — The No. 21 South Carolina women’s tennis team suffered its second consecutive loss to a top-15 opponent Sunday with a 5-2 defeat at the hands of rival No. 13 Clemson at the Clemson Indoor Tennis Center. The Gamecocks dropped to 4-2 with the loss, while the Tigers improved to 3-1.

The Tigers took a close doubles point from the Gamecocks with wins on courts one and three. Clemson’s second-ranked duo of Beatrice Gumulya and Jessy Rompies defeated Elixane Lechemia and Hadley Berg 6-3 at the top position, but Carolina’s No. 33 Brigit Folland and Meghan Blevins came back to upend Romy Koelzer and Tristen Dewar 6-4 on court two. Caroline Dailey and Ximena Siles Luna had a 5-2 lead on the Tiger duo of Daniela Ruiz and Yuilynn Miao at three, but the Tigers fought back and won five straight games to take the doubles with a 7-5 victory.

South Carolina evened the score in singles thanks to No. 99 Blevins’ dominant 6-3, 6-2 performance over Dewar on court four. Clemson answered back, however, with No. 85 Koelzer beating No. 120 Lechemia at the top position 6-1, 6-4. No. 27 Joana Eidukonyte then pushed the Tigers to within one point of clinching with a 6-0, 6-3 victory against Folland at No. 3 singles.

The match was far from over, though, despite the Gamecocks trailing 3-1. Dailey battled her way into a third set against Gumulya at two and Berg managed to take the first set from Rompies at five. Before those two matches finished, Siles Luna make quick work of Ruiz with a 6-1, 6-0 win at six to pull South Carolina within a point.

With the score tied at 4-all in the third on court two, Gumulya managed to claim the final two games to give Clemson the win with a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4 final over Dailey. Rompies ended up winning the second set against Berg 6-1 at five to force a super tiebreaker, which she took for a 4-6, 6-1, (10-8) triumph.

The Gamecocks are off for nearly two weeks before hosting Charlotte and College of Charleston in a doubleheader Feb. 14 to mark the first home matches of the season. Play begins at 11 a.m. against Charlotte followed by a 3 p.m. start for the CofC contest. Weather permitting, both matches will be played outdoors at Carolina Tennis Center.

#13 Clemson def. #21 South Carolina, 5-2

Singles
1. #85 Romy Koelzer (CU) def. #120 Elixane Lechemia (SC), 6-1, 6-4
2. Beatrice Gumulya (CU) def. Caroline Dailey (SC), 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4
3. #27 Joana Eidukonyte (CU) def. Brigit Folland (SC), 6-0, 6-3
4. #99 Meghan Blevins (SC) def. Tristen Dewar (CU), 6-3, 6-2
5. Jessy Rompies (CU) def. Hadley Berg (SC), 4-6, 6-1, (10-8)
6. Ximena Siles Luna (SC) def. Daniela Ruiz (CU), 6-1, 6-0

Order of Finish: 4, 1, 3, 6, 2, 5

Doubles
1. #2 Gumulya/Rompies (CU) def. Berg/Lechemia (SC), 6-3
2. #33 Blevins/Folland (SC) def. Koelzer/Dewar (CU), 6-4
3. Ruiz/Yuilynn Miao (CU) def. Dailey/Siles Luna (SC), 7-5

Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3