Sept. 15, 2012

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The South Carolina women’s tennis team posted an unbeaten singles record at the UVa Fall Classic on Saturday at the Synder Tennis Center in Charlottesville, Va.

Senior Jaklin Alawi reached the finals of flight A-1 with her 6-4, 6-2 win against VCU’s Olga Terteac. Alawi, ranked No. 63, will face Julia Elbaba of Virginia, ranked No. 4 nationally in the preseason ITA rankings for freshmen and newcomers, on Sunday morning for the championship.

Junior Katerina Popova advanced to the finals of the consolation draw in the A-2 flight by defeating Katherine Oudin from Furman 7-5, 6-2. Olga Barshchevskaya of VCU is Popova’s opponent in the consolation finals on Sunday.

After failing to register singles wins on day one, senior Josefin Andersson and sophomore Alex Martin rebounded with victories in the B flight. Andersson beat Jenny Porter of Furman 6-2, 6-3, while Martin collected a 6-4, 6-7, (11-9) triumph over Kelly Sullivan, also from Furman. Andersson and Martin will meet Sunday to determine 13th place in the draw.

In flight C, Ximena Siles Luna upended Caitlin Cridland of Winthrop 7-5, 6-4 in round-robin play. Siles Luna will play Wake Forest’s Brigita Bercyte and Jackie Lee from William & Mary in her final matches of the tournament on Sunday.

In doubles flight A, Andersson and Popova suffered an 8-4 setback to Fuccillo and Peretz from Virginia but recovered to defeat Siegler and Retolaza of Wake Forest in the 13th place bracket by an 8-2 score. Alawi and Martin lost 8-2 to Timko and Oppinger from Marshall in the semifinals of flight B.

Play at the UVa Fall Classic concludes Sunday with matches beginning at 9 a.m.

SINGLES – FLIGHT A-1
#63 Jaklin Alawi, USC, def Olga Terteac, VCU, 6-4, 6-2 (Semifinals)

SINGLES – FLIGHT A-2
Katerina Popova, USC, def. Katherine Oudin, FU, 7-5, 6-2 (Consolation Semifinals)

SINGLES – FLIGHT B
Josefin Andersson, USC, def. Jenny Porter, FU, 6-2, 6-3 (13th Place Bracket)
Alex Martin, USC, def. Kelly Sullivan, FU, 6-4, 6-7, (11-9) (13th Place Bracket)

SINGLES – FLIGHT C
Ximena Siles Luna, USC, def. Caitlin Cridland, WU, 7-5, 6-4 (Round Robin)

DOUBLES – FLIGHT A
Fuccillo/Peretz, UVa, def. Andersson/Popova, USC, 8-4 (Consolation Quarterfinals)
Andersson/Popova, USC, def. Siegler/Retolaza, WFU, 8-2 (13th Place Bracket)

DOUBLES – FLIGHT B
Timko/Oppinger, MU, def. Alawi/Martin, USC, 8-2 (Semifinals)

LEGEND
FU = Furman
MU = Marshall
USC = South Carolina
UVa = Virginia
VCU = Virginia Commonwealth
WFU = Wake Forest
WU= Winthrop