South Carolina Heads to Charlottesville for Two Matches
Jan. 31, 2014
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COLUMBIA, S.C. — The No. 33 South Carolina women’s tennis team returns to the courts for the first time in two weeks Saturday when it faces No. 44 VCU on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va., at 1 p.m. The Gamecocks then face the No. 14 Cavaliers at noon on Sunday at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
South Carolina is coming off a week in which its Tuesday match versus Furman was scratched with the winter storm that rolled through large portions of the Southeast. The Gamecocks now look to extend their 2-0 start to the season against a VCU squad that Carolina defeated 4-2 in Richmond, Va., last season. South Carolina has won four straight over the Rams with three of those victories coming in 4-3 margins. The Gamecocks hold a 4-2 edge in the all-time series and are 2-0 versus VCU on neutral ground. The last neutral match-up between the two came in a consolation match of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in 2009 in Durham, N.C. In 2008, the Gamecocks won an epic 4-3 come-from-behind contest in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Athens, Ga.
VCU has a 2-2 record after losing two matches at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Jan. 25 and 26. The Rams fell by a 4-2 score to Memphis in their first match and then dropped a 4-3 decision to Denver in the second. They opened the season with a Jan. 17 doubleheader using an experimental scoring format of four singles matches and one doubles each worth one point apiece. The Rams defeated both Campbell and Georgetown by 3-2 scores. VCU will take on UVa today before facing the Gamecocks.
The Cavaliers have played just one dual match thus far with a 5-2 win at William & Mary on Jan. 15. They then hosted the UVa Invitational over Jan. 18-20. South Carolina and Virginia have met just three times with the Gamecocks winning all the match-ups, but the squads have not played each other since 1985. After the Carolina match, Virginia will host the ITA National Team Indoor Championships over Feb. 7-10.
Two freshmen lead the Gamecocks in singles victories this season with nine each coming courtesy of Brigit Folland and Caroline Dailey. Dailey is off to a 9-4 start to her career, while Folland stands 9-5. Folland is the only Gamecock currently with a national ranking at 113th. Meghan Blevins and Elixane Lechemia are South Carolina’s most productive duo with a 5-2 mark together, and Blevins leads the squad in individual doubles wins with a 9-3 record. Lechemia is just behind her at 8-4.
Sophomore Julia Elbaba, who is ranked No. 11 this season, leads the Cavaliers with a 12-2 record. Not far behind her is classmate Danielle Collins at No. 28 with a 13-5 mark. Collins spent her freshman year playing for the Florida Gators. Freshman Rachel Pierson holds a No. 43 ranking and a 15-5 mark to lead the Cavaliers in victories. Sophomore Stephanie Nauta rounds out UVa’s list of ranked players at No. 85 with an 11-4 record. Elbaba and Pierson comprise the No. 8-ranked doubles team in the nation as well with an impressive 16-2 mark together.
VCU has one ranked player in the most recent ITA rankings with sophomore Yukako Noi coming in at 81st. The Rams have no ranked doubles teams.
After facing the Rams and Cavaliers, South Carolina will host a doubleheader against Charleston Southern and Davidson at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 9.
