Sept. 29, 2012

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Jaklin Alawi and Dominika Kanakova from the South Carolina women’s tennis team snagged a victory in their opening-round doubles match in the pre-qualifying tournament of the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships on Saturday at Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Alawi and Kanakova defeated Catherine Harrison and Kaitlin Ray from UCLA by an 8-5 score. The duo moves on to face Klara Vyskocilova and Emma Levy from Tulane at noon ET on Sunday. Teams competing in the prequalifying tournament must win three matches to earn spots in the qualifying draw, which begins Tuesday. Should Alawi and Kanakova win their first match Sunday, they will play again later that day for a chance to reach qualifying.

Alawi will also play in the singles qualifying tournament starting Tuesday. Her No. 63 national ranking allowed her to bypass the pre-qualies and head straight to the qualifying draw. She is looking to become the first Gamecock to play in the singles main draw since 2000.