April 9, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Junior Elixane Lechemia from the 35th-ranked South Carolina women’s tennis team earned Co-SEC Player of the Week honors, the league office announced Wednesday. She shared the award with Caitlyn Williams from Tennessee.

Lechemia helped the Gamecocks defeat then-No. 24 Ole Miss and then-No. 75 Mississippi State on the road last week. The Ole Miss win marked the Gamecocks’ first road victory against a top-25 opponent since 2010 when they defeated No. 15 Georgia in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament in Athens. South Carolina is now 14-8 and 5-6 in the SEC and currently riding a four-match unbeaten streak.

A native of Lyon, France, Lechemia teamed with Dominika Kanakova to clinch the doubles point in both matches. She improved her record at No. 1 doubles with Kanakova to 7-3 in SEC matches, tied for the most wins in school history at the position with Jennifer Radman and Kathy Boyanovich, who went 7-4 together in 2001.

In singles, Lechemia gave South Carolina its third point versus Ole Miss with a convincing 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Caroline Rohde-Moe at No. 1 singles. She was one game away from upsetting then-No. 66 Georgiana Patrasc from Mississippi State.

Lechemia is tied for the team lead in singles victories this season with an 18-9 record and is the team leader for individual doubles wins with a 19-9 record. She is ranked a career-high No. 98 in the nation in the latest ITA singles rankings and holds a No. 30 ranking with Kanakova in doubles, also a career best.