April 3, 2015

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The 31st-ranked South Carolina women’s tennis team dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 8 Vanderbilt on Friday at the Currey Tennis Center in Nashville, Tenn. The Commodores improved to 14-5 and 9-1 in the SEC with the win, while the Gamecocks fell to 12-8 and 4-6 in league play.

South Carolina struck first in the doubles point with Elixane Lechemia and Ximena Siles Luna toppling Frances Altick and Marie Casares, 8-1, on court three. The Gamecocks, however, could not win courts one or two to take the point. Vandy countered with No. 18 Sydney Campbell and Courtney Colton upending No. 75 Hadley Berg and Caroline Dailey at one, 8-7, and No. 24 Ashleigh Antal and Astra Sharma defeated No. 37 Meghan Blevins and Brigit Folland, 8-6, at No. 2 for the clincher.

No. 98 Casares added to the Commodores’ lead in singles play by handing Siles Luna her first dual match loss of the spring at No. 5 by scores of 6-0, 6-1. Siles Luna is now 10-1 in duals. No. 71 Sharma added the next point for Vandy at two with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Dailey. No. 111 Altick provided Vanderbilt with the winning point with a 6-3, 6-1 triumph over Blevins at four singles.

Folland got South Carolina on the board with a win on court three versus No. 100 Colton. After taking the first set 6-3, Folland dropped the second, 6-3, and the two played a super tiebreaker for the third. Folland fell behind 6-4 in the breaker before rattling off six of the next seven points in her favor to snatch the 10-7 win. It marked the sophomore’s 21st victory of the season as well.

Antal made the score 5-1 with her 6-1, 6-0 win at six over Berg, leaving court one between No. 50 Lechemia and No. 12 Campbell as the last match remaining. Campbell grabbed the first set 7-5, but Lechemia ran away with a 6-2 win in the second. The two played a full set for the third since the team outcome had not yet been decided and they traded games back and forth to set up a tiebreaker. Not surprisingly, the two were still deadlocked after the first changeover at 3-all, but Campbell managed to come away with a 7-5 win before a second change was needed to give Vandy its sixth and final point.

The Gamecocks face No. 20 Kentucky on Sunday at noon in Lexington, Ky., for their final regular-season road contest of the season.

#8 Vanderbilt def. #31 South Carolina, 6-1

Singles
1. #12 Sydney Campbell (VU) def. #50 Elixane Lechemia (SC), 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(5)
2. #71 Astra Sharma (VU) def. Caroline Dailey (SC), 6-4, 6-3
3. Brigit Folland (SC) def. #100 Courtney Colton (VU), 6-3, 3-6, (10-7)
4. #111 Frances Altick (VU) def. Meghan Blevins (SC), 6-3, 6-1
5. #98 Marie Casares (VU) def. Ximena Siles Luna (SC), 6-0, 6-1
6. Ashleigh Antal (VU) def. Hadley Berg (SC), 6-1, 6-0

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

Doubles
1. #18 Campbell/Colton (VU) def. #75 Berg/Dailey (SC), 8-7
2. #24 Antal/Sharma (VU) def. #37 Blevins/Folland (SC), 8-6
3. Lechemia/Siles Luna (SC) def. Altick/Casares (VU), 8-1

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2