Feb. 23, 2013
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The 38th-ranked South Carolina women’s tennis team improved to 6-3 on the season with a 5-0 shutout of No. 72 College of Charleston on Saturday at the USC Field House in Columbia, S.C. CofC dropped to 4-3 on the season with the loss. The Gamecocks next face Charleston Southern in match two of a doubleheader at 4 p.m. in the Field House.
The Gamecocks wasted no time picking up the doubles point from the Cougars. Between all three courts, South Carolina won the first 10 games played before College of Charleston picked up a game on court one. Katerina Popova and Josefin Andersson finished first for Carolina with an 8-0 sweep over Samantha Maddox and Brooke McAmis on court two to improve to 8-1 this spring. No. 57 Jaklin Alawi and Dominika Kanakova clinched the point for the Gamecocks at the top position with an 8-2 triumph over Katherine Schofield and Irene Viana, running their record to 7-2 in 2013.
South Carolina’s Elixane Lechemia and Ximena Siles Luna led Olivia McMillan and Christin Newman on court three 7-1, but played was suspended once Alawi and Kanakova clinched the doubles point.
South Carolina dominated three of the first four matches on court in the Field House. No. 114 Popova won first by defeating McAmis 6-0, 6-1 to up her record on the spring to 6-1. Popova won eight straight games before surrendering one to McAmis.
No. 59 Alawi battled her way through her first set against Newman at No. 1 singles, winning two straight games with the score tied 4-all to take the set. Alawi coasted in the second to a 6-0 win to give Carolina a 3-0 advantage and her second win a row.
For the second straight contest, Kanakova provided the Gamecocks with the winning point. She won 10 consecutive games versus Schofield at the fourth position before going on to win 6-0, 6-1. Kanakova improved to 2-0 at No. 4 singles for the year in the process as well.
Lechemia posted South Carolina’s fifth point at No. 3 singles by upending Maddox in straight sets. The two traded games back and forth in the first set before eventually moving to a tiebreaker. Lechemia had one match point at 6-5, but Maddox stayed alive to win the rally for 6-all. Lechemia, though, took the next two points to pick up the 8-6 win for the first set. With a 3-2 lead in the second set, Lechemia took command to finish off Maddox 6-2 for the win.
Play stopped once Lechemia concluded her match on court three. At No. 5 singles, Siles Luna led Viana 5-2 in the first set. Andersson held a 6-1, 1-0 advantage on McMillan on court six.
SINGLES COMPETITION
| POS | SOUTH CAROLINA | OPPONENT | WINNER | SCORE | FINISH | |
 |
1 | #59 Jaklin Alawi | Christin Newman | South Carolina | 6-4, 6-1 | 2 |
 |
2 | #114 Katerina Popova | Brooke McAmis | South Carolina | 6-0, 6-1 | 1 |
 |
3 | Elixane Lechemia | Samantha Maddox | South Carolina | 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 | 4 |
 |
4 | Dominika Kanakova | Katherine Schofield | South Carolina | 6-0, 6-1 | 3 |
 |
5 | Ximena Siles Luna | Irene Viana | Unfinished | SC led 5-2 | |
 |
6 | Josefin Andersson | Olivia McMillan | Unfinished | SC led 6-1, 1-0 |
DOUBLES COMPETITION
| POS | SOUTH CAROLINA | OPPONENT | WINNER | SCORE | FINISH | |
|
1 | #57 Alawi/Kanakova | Schofield/Viana | South Carolina | 8-2 | 2 |
|
2 | Popova/Andersson | Maddox/McAmis | South Carolina | 8-0 | 1 |
|
3 | Lechemia/Siles Luna | McMillan/Newman | Unfinished | SC led 7-1 |
