July 16, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Incoming South Carolina women’s tennis freshman Hadley Berg reached the singles final at an Intercollegiate Tennis Association Summer Circuit event hosted by UC Davis on Monday.

Berg had byes through the first two rounds of the tournament and first defeated Madeline Almeida 6-2, 6-1 in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, she scored another decisive win by upending Deimante Bulatovaite 6-3, 6-0. Berg then beat Sophia Whittle 6-4, 7-5 in the semifinals to set up a match with Kassidy Jump from Arizona State in the championship. Jump, who will be a sophomore this year, won the match 6-2, 7-5 over Berg.

The Gamecocks have seen a great deal of success thus far with the ITA Summer Circuit. Prior to Berg reaching the singles final in California, sophomore Caroline Dailey won the doubles title at a tournament in Tallahassee, Fla., on July 9.

Earlier this year, Berg won her first International Tennis Federation title in Tinajo, Spain, when she teamed with Madison Westby for the doubles crown at the $10,000 F.T.A. International. Berg and Westby posted a 6-4, 6-2 victory in the championship match against Yoshimi Kawasaki and Yumi Nakano, both experienced professionals from Japan.

Berg was ranked as high as the No. 52 recruit in the nation in 2013 by TennisRecruiting.net and was as high as No. 66 in 2014. The recruiting service considers her a five-star prospect as well.