April 10, 2014
Dominika Kanakova and Katerina Popova will be honored Sunday for Senior Day prior to the start of the Vanderbilt match.
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COLUMBIA, S.C. — The 35th-ranked South Carolina women’s tennis team looks to extend its four-match winning streak when it hosts No. 30 Kentucky on Friday at 5 p.m. and No. 5 Vanderbilt on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Carolina Tennis Center in Columbia, S.C.
South Carolina (14-8, 5-6 SEC) enters the final weekend of regular-season play coming off wins at then-No. 24 Ole Miss and then-No. 75 Mississippi State last week. South Carolina’s win at Ole Miss on Friday marked its first win against a top-25 team on the road since 2010 when it defeated then-No. 15 Georgia in Athens, Ga., in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Ximena Siles Luna clinched both matches for the Gamecocks at No. 6 singles, while Elixane Lechemia and Dominika Kanakova clinched both doubles points and improved to 7-3 in league matches this season at No. 1 doubles. Their seven wins ties Kathy Boyanovich and Jennifer Radman from the 2001 squad for the most wins at the position in league play in school history. Lechemia and Kanakova, who are now ranked 30th, upset a higher ranked team on the weekend as well by downing then-No. 41 Alexandra Perper and Naomi Tran of Mississippi State. Lechemia earned her second career SEC Player of the Week nod Wednesday for her efforts in the Magnolia State last week. In the newest ITA rankings, Katerina Popova tops the singles list for Carolina at No. 90 and Lechemia is close behind at No. 98. Besides Lechemia and Kanakova, Popova and Meghan Blevins are ranked No. 76 in doubles as well.
Kentucky (15-8, 5-6) dropped a 4-2 decision to Vanderbilt on the road Saturday. Kentucky duo Nadia Ravita and Aldila Sutjiadi tallied a win at No. 2 doubles over Sydney Campbell and Ashleigh Antal, who were ranked 35th at the time. In singles, Sutjiadi tied the match with a win at No. 2 singles. Winning the first set over then-No. 91 Georgina Sellyn, 6-2, Sellyn retired in the second set to give Sutjiadi the win. Kirsten Lewis clinched her match over Lauren Mira 6-4, 1-6, 6-0 for the Wildcats’ other point. Ravita is UK’s lone ranked player in singles at No. 57. Three Wildcat doubles teams appear in the rankings with Caitlin McGraw and CeCe Witten coming in the highest at 45th. Ravita and Sutjiadi are No. 62 and Kelsey Dieters and Witten are No. 87.
Vanderbilt (17-4, 10-1 SEC) picked up its 16th doubles point of the season against the Wildcats and notched singles wins at one, three and five to clinch the match. Mira and Courtney Colton improved to 6-0 in dual match play and 4-0 in the SEC. Campbell clinched the match with a win at No. 1, her first career dual win at the position. The Commodores are currently tied with Alabama and Georgia atop the SEC standings, and Vanderbilt owns wins against both Alabama and Georgia. Vandy will face No. 11 Florida on Friday at 3 p.m. in Gainesville, Fla., where the Gators have won 132 consecutive regular-season matches dating back to 2002. The Commodores possess a strong presence in both the singles and doubles rankings. Frances Altick is No. 62 in singles and followed by No. 67 Campbell, No. 70 Sellyn, No. 85 Colton and No. 99 Marie Casares. Five duos are ranked for doubles as well with Mira/Colton (32), Antal/Campbell (40), Altick/Casares (58), Casares/Colton (67) and Antal/Casares (88).
South Carolina had a seven-match unbeaten streak against the Wildcats broken last season in Lexington, Ky., by a 4-3 margin. The Gamecocks’ overall recent success versus the Wildcats, however, has given them an 18-15 advantage in the series. The Gamecocks were 6-1 winners the last time Kentucky visited Columbia in 2012. UK’s last win in Columbia was in 2008 by a 4-3 score.
The Commodores own an 18-12 edge in the all-time series and have beaten the Gamecocks the past three times they have played. South Carolina suffered a 6-1 setback last season and fell 5-2 the last time the Commodores visited Columbia two years ago. The Gamecocks last beat Vanderbilt in 2010 when they lost the doubles point but came back to win five of six in singles for the 5-2 victory. South Carolina also beat the Commodores 4-3 at home in 2008 in a thriller that took nearly five and a half hours to complete.
Following the regular season, South Carolina will head to Columbia, Mo., to begin play in the SEC Tournament with first-round action starting Wednesday, April 16.
