March 23, 2014
AUBURN, Ala. — The No. 56 South Carolina women’s tennis team dropped a four-plus-hour battle with No. 20 Auburn on Sunday by a 4-1 score in Auburn, Ala. The loss dropped the Gamecocks to 10-8 and 1-6 in the SEC, while the Tigers improved to 15-4 and 5-2 in league play.
Carolina suffered a setback in doubles play, as the Tigers struck first with 12th-ranked Pleun Burgmans and Emily Flickinger defeating No. 61 Elixane Lechemia and Dominika Kanakova 8-2 on court one. Michala Kucharova and Jen Pfeifler provided the clincher at three with an 8-6 triumph over Caroline Dailey and Brigit Folland. At two, Meghan Blevins and Katerina Popova held a 7-4 advantage over Auburn’s Jackie Kasler and Paula de Man when played was suspended.
No. 112 Blevins managed to tie the score up in singles play with a straight set victory against Kucharova 6-3, 6-4 at No. 4 singles, but it was the only point the Gamecocks could muster on the day. No. 101 Flickinger answered with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Popova at two, and No. 33 Burgmans survived a three-setter with Lechemia at one by a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 score to pull Auburn within a point of winning. De Man recorded the clincher by coming back to upend No. 95 Folland 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 at No. 3 singles.
Dailey was in control of the No. 5 singles match with Kasler, leading 4-6, 7-5, 4-2 when play was stopped. At six, Kanakova won the first set against Pfeifler 6-2 but lost the second in a tiebreak 7-3. The two were about to start a third set when de Man posted the win over Folland.
South Carolina returns home to Carolina Tennis Center for its next two SEC contests, hosting No. 55 LSU on Friday at 5 p.m. and No. 46 Arkansas at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Singles
1. #33 Pleun Burgmans, AU, def. Elixane Lechemia, USC, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1
2. #101 Emily Flickinger, AU, def. Katerina Popova, USC, 6-4, 6-2
3. Paula de Man, AU, def. #95 Brigit Folland, USC, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
4. #112 Meghan Blevins, USC, def. Michala Kucharova, AU, 6-3, 6-4
5. Caroline Dailey, USC, vs. Jackie Kasler, AU, 4-6, 7-5, 4-2 susp.
6. Dominika Kanakova, USC, vs. Jen Pfeifler, AU, 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), susp.
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 1, 3
Doubles
1. #12 Burgmans/Flickinger, AU, def. #61 Lechemia/Kanakova, USC, 8-2
2. Blevins/Popova, USC, vs. Kasler/de Man, AU, 7-4 susp.
3. Kucharova/Pfeifler, AU, def. Dailey/Folland, USC, 8-6
Order of Finish: 1, 3
