April 5, 2015

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The 31st-ranked South Carolina women’s tennis team registered its third upset victory in the past two weeks Sunday, this time blanking No. 20 Kentucky, 4-0, at the Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, Ky. The Gamecocks improved to 13-8 and 5-6 in the SEC, while the Wildcats dipped to 15-9 and 6-5 in the SEC with the loss.

The Gamecocks began their recent string of upsets with a win over then-No. 27 Mississippi State on March 20 and followed with a 4-2 triumph against then-No. 17 Ole Miss two days later. South Carolina also beat then-No. 30 Auburn earlier in the year when it was ranked 42nd at the time.

Carolina dominated the match from start to finish, first snagging the doubles point with victories on courts two and three. Meghan Blevins and Brigit Folland, ranked 37th, got the first win at No. 2 doubles by an 8-4 score against Kirsten Lewis and Nadia Ravita. It marked their 25th win together this season. For Folland, it was also her 30th doubles win of the season individually, making her the first Gamecock since Helen Crook and Victoria Davies in 1993-94 to reach the 30-win plateau.

Elixane Lechemia and Ximena Siles Luna got the clincher at three with an 8-2 triumph over Kelsey Dieters and EdmÃƒÂ©e Morin-Kougoucheff. The Gamecock duo dropped just three games over the weekend combined between the Vandy and UK matches.

South Carolina opened singles play by taking the first set on every court except No. 5. Blevins ended up finishing first on court four with a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 121 Mami Adachi for her team-leading 24th victory. Hadley Berg followed soon afterward by making short work of Morin-Kougoucheff at six, 6-1, 6-3. Caroline Dailey provided the clincher with a 6-4, 6-4 upset of No. 76 Ravita on court two, giving Dailey her 21st win of the season.

No. 50 Lechemia led Aldila Sutjiadi 6-2, 6-5 at one when play stopped, while Folland was up a set and tied 4-all in the second at three versus Dieters. At five, Siles Luna lost the first set to Lewis, 6-3, but recovered with a 6-1 win in the second and led 1-0 in the third.

The Gamecocks are at home for their final regular-season matches next week against Tennessee on Friday at 5 p.m. and No. 5 Georgia on Sunday at 1 p.m. South Carolina then hosts the SEC Tournament over April 15-19 at Carolina Tennis Center.

#31 South Carolina def. #20 Kentucky, 4-0

Singles
1. #50 Elixane Lechemia (SC) vs. Aldila Sutjiadi (UK), 6-2, 6-5 susp.
2. Caroline Dailey (SC) def. #76 Nadia Ravita (UK), 6-4, 6-4
3. Brigit Folland (SC) vs. Kelsey Dieters (UK), 6-3, 4-4 susp.
4. Meghan Blevins (SC) def. #121 Mami Adachi (UK), 6-3, 6-2
5. Ximena Siles Luna (SC) vs. Kirsten Lewis (UK), 3-6, 6-1, 1-0 susp.
6. Hadley Berg (SC) def. EdmÃƒÂ©e Morin-Kougoucheff (UK), 6-1, 6-3

Order of Finish: 4, 6, 2

Doubles
1. #75 Berg/Dailey (SC) vs. #28 Adachi/Sutjiadi (UK), 6-5 susp.
2. #37 Blevins/Folland (SC) def. Lewis/Ravita (UK), 8-4
3. Lechemia/Siles Luna (SC) def. Dieters/Morin-Kougoucheff (UK), 8-2

Order of Finish: 2, 3