Nov. 2, 2012

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The South Carolina women’s tennis team posted a strong opening day at the New Mexico Fall Invitational on Friday in Albuquerque, N.M., at the Linda Estes Tennis Center.

Jaklin Alawi, Katerina Popova, Dominika Kanakova, Adriana Pereira, Ximena Siles Luna and Alex Martin all won their opening-round singles matches in their respective draws to reach the semifinals. Only Kanakova needed three sets to earn her victory, a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 decision against Gabi Vazquez of UTEP. Siles Luna’s 6-2, 6-0 triumph over Michaela Oldani from New Mexico gave her victory No. 10 on the season to lead the Gamecocks.

In doubles, Alawi and Kanakova picked up a win, as did Pereira and Siles Luna to reach the semifinal rounds. Josefin Andersson and Popova suffered a 9-7 setback in their match. Martin teamed with New Mexico’s Katie Wookey and won a play-in match against a duo from Western New Mexico before falling in the quarterfinals of the main draw.

Play continues at the UNM Fall Invitational on Saturday and concludes Sunday.

CHERRY SINGLES
#63 Jaklin Alawi, USC, def. Sofya Malysheva, TTU, 6-2, 6-3 (Quarterfinals)
Katerina Popova, USC, def. Martina Trierweiler, UTEP, 6-1, 6-2 (Quarterfinals)

SILVER SINGLES
Kelli Hine, TTU, def. Josefin Andersson, USC, 6-3, 6-3 (Quarterfinals)
Dominika Kanakova, USC, def. Gabi Vazquez, UTEP, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 (Quarterfinals)

TURQUOISE SINGLES
Adriana Pereira, USC, def. Tatum Rochin, NAU, 6-1, 6-1

BLACK SINGLES
Ximena Siles Luna, USC, def. Michaela Oldani, UNM, 6-2, 6-0 (Quarterfinals)
Alex Martin, USC, def. Jordan Denesick, NAU, 6-1, 6-2 (Quarterfinals)

CHERRY DOUBLES
Bekerova/Miles, UU, def. Andersson/Popova, USC, 9-7 (Quarterfinals)
Alawi/Kanakova, USC, def. Perez/Rochin, NAU, 8-4 (Quarterfinals)

SILVER DOUBLES
Martin/Wookey, USC/UNM, def. Aragon/Irvin, WNMU, 8-0 (Play-In)
Trierwieler/Abdrakhamanova, UTEP, def. Martin/Wookey, USC/UNM, 8-4 (Quarterfinals)
Pereira/Siles Luna, USC, def. Khan/Kuuttila, UNM, 8-3 (Quarterfinals)

LEGEND
NAU = Northern Arizona
TTU = Texas Tech
UNM = New Mexico
USC = South Carolina
UTEP = Texas-El Paso
UU = Utah
WNMU = Western New Mexico