Feb. 17, 2012

SAN DIEGO — After nearly three weeks off from competition, the No. 26 South Carolina women’s tennis team (3-1) registered a 5-2 win at No. 35 San Diego (1-4) on Friday at the Hogan Tennis Center in San Diego.

“I knew it was going to be tough; they’re a good team,” associate head coach Katarina Petrovic said. “They were really feisty and they fought a lot, but I felt confident throughout the whole match. I thought we had the whole match under control.”

South Carolina claimed the doubles point thanks to wins on courts one and two. Jaklin Alawi and Dijana Stojic finished first on court one with an 8-2 triumph over Stephanie Hoffpauir and Idil Haciraifoglu. After Alawi and Stojic held a 3-2 lead after five games, the duo ran off five straight games to pick up the win and stay undefeated this spring. The Toreros answered quickly with Maja Sujica and Anna Depenau’s 8-2 win at No. 3 doubles versus Adriana Pereira and Katerina Popova.

At two, Dominika Kanakova and Anya Morgina held a 6-4 advantage over Laura Claus and Juliette Coupez after 10 games. USD managed to hold serve and then got a break against Morgina to make it 6-all and seize the momentum. The Gamecocks, though, regrouped and broke serve for a 7-6 lead heading to the changeover. Carolina got up 40-30 on Kanakova’s serve after Morgina hit a forehand volley winner at the net. On match point, Kanakova ripped a forehand winner crosscourt after Coupez tried to poach the net looking for a ball down the line.

Stojic grabbed the Gamecocks’ second point of the match, winning 6-2, 6-4 against Coupez at the No. 3 position in singles. Stojic actually trailed 3-0 to start the second set before coming back to win it 6-4. Morgina put South Carolina ahead 3-0 after winning 6-4, 6-4 against Hoffpauir on court one to remain perfect in 2012.

San Diego rallied to win the next two matches on court, first taking the No. 6 singles match with Maja Sujica’s 6-3, 6-2 triumph against Pereira. Next, Depenau defeated Popova in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 to cut the deficit to just one.

Kanakova stepped up to provide the Gamecocks with the fourth and clinching point for the match at No. 5 singles against Marite Raygada. After winning the first set 6-3, Kanakova took a commanding 5-2 lead in the second, but Raygada came back to make it 5-4. Kanakova then regained her composure and served out the match to move to 3-0 this spring.

“I think we were fighting a lot,” Kanakova said. “We had to deserve the points we won. I felt from the beginning of today that we were going to win because there was a good, pumped up atmosphere. I had fun and I’m glad we are finally playing some matches again.”

The final match at No. 2 singles saw Alawi defeat Claus in a third set super tiebreaker. Alawi won the first set 7-5 despite trailing 5-4 and then Claus answered with a 6-4 win in the second that came just minutes after Kanakova secured the team victory. In the super tiebreaker, Alawi dominated from the opening point, cruising her way to a 10-2 win.

The Gamecocks will be back in action Saturday in San Diego when they take on Loyola Marymount at 4 p.m. ET at the Hogan Tennis Center.

Singles
1. #29 Anya Morgina, USC, def. Stephanie Hoffpauir, USD, 6-4, 6-4
2. #59 Jaklin Alawi, USC, def. Laura Claus, USD, 7-5, 4-6, (10-2)
3. #119 Dijana Stojic, USC, def. Juliette Coupez, USD, 6-2, 6-4
4. Anna Depenau, USD, def. Katerina Popova, USC, 6-4, 6-2
5. Dominika Kanakova, USC, def. Marite Raygada, USD, 6-3, 6-4
6. Maja Sujica, USD, def. Adriana Pereira, USC, 6-3, 6-2

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

Doubles
1. Alawi/Stojic, USC, def. Hoffpauir/Idil Haciraifoglu, USD, 8-2
2. Kanakova/Morgina, USC, def. Claus/Coupez, USD, 8-6
3. Sujica/Depenau, USD, def. Pereira/Popova, USC, 8-2

Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2