Jan. 18, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The 33rd-ranked South Carolina women’s tennis team earned a 6-1 victory over College of Charleston on Saturday in the second match of a doubleheader at the USC Field House in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks dispatched East Tennessee State in the first match and are now 2-0 to start the season.

South Carolina needed just 30 minutes to clinch the doubles point with dominating performances on courts one and two. Katerina Popova and Ximena Siles Luna won first by a 6-1 count against Mara Argyriou and Kelly Kambourelis. Minutes later, Meghan Blevins and Elixane Lechemia clinched the 1-0 lead after beating Jamie Harrell and Katherine Schofield 6-1 at the No. 1 position.

On court three, the Gamecocks’ Caroline Dailey and Brigit Folland trailed Samantha Maddox and Brooke McAmis 4-3 when Lechemia and Blevins clinched the point. Their match was suspended with the doubles point already decided.

Lechemia wasted no time putting Carolina ahead 2-0 after she made short work of Kambourelis at No. 1 singles, winning 6-1, 6-0 to improve to 7-4 on the season. As she was wrapping up her match, Folland took the first set from Argyriou at three, 6-4, and Blevins beat Schofield 6-3 in the first set of their match at the No. 4 position.

Popova eventually won her first set 6-3 against McAmis on court two but she cruised in the second to win 6-0 and put the Gamecocks within a point of clinching the match. With the win, Popova improved to 6-4.

Folland and Blevins finished within seconds of each other to provide the winning point. It was Blevins who snatched the win right before Folland with a 6-3, 6-1 decision and Folland secured a 6-4, 6-1 victory. Blevins upped her record to 5-7, while Folland earned her team-leading ninth triumph.

With the match in hand, Dailey already had the first set under her belt against Maddox on court five by a 6-1 score. Maddox managed a 2-1 advantage after the first three games in the second, but Dailey recovered to pull back in front 3-2. The two continued to trade games back and forth until reaching a tiebreaker, which Dailey won 7-4 to make it 6-0 for the Gamecocks.

Looney had just lost her first set at No. 6 singles to Grace Baker when Dailey provided the sixth point. In the second, Looney got off to a rough start by falling behind 4-0, but she recorded to straight games to cut the deficit in half. Baker grabbed the ensuing game for a 5-2 advantage, but Looney rallied again and tied it up at 5-all with the serve. Baker, though, broke Looney for a 6-5 lead and then held to win 7-5.

The Gamecocks will take more than a week off between matches and will next host Furman on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 4 p.m.

Singles
1. Elixane Lechemia, USC, def. Kelly Kambourelis, CofC, 6-1, 6-0
2. Katerina Popova, USC, def. Brooke McAmis, CofC, 6-3, 6-0
3. #113 Brigit Folland, USC, def. Mara Argyriou, CofC, 6-4, 6-1
4. Meghan Blevins, USC, def. Katherine Schofield, CofC, 6-3, 6-1
5. Caroline Dailey, USC, def. Samantha Maddox, CofC, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Grace Baker, CofC, def. Natalie Looney, USC, 6-3, 7-5

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

Doubles
1. Blevins/Lechemia, USC, def. Jamie Harrell/Schofield, CofC, 6-1
2. Popova/Siles Luna, USC, def. Argyriou/Kambourelis, CofC, 6-1
3. Dailey/Folland, USC, vs. Maddox/McAmis, CofC, 3-4 susp.

Order of Finish: 2, 1