Sept. 24, 2015
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina women’s tennis is set to compete in its second fall event this weekend as it travels to Greenville, S.C., for the Furman Fall Classic. The tournament, which consists of six singles flights and three doubles flights, begins Friday, Sept. 25, and runs through Sunday, Sept. 27, at the Mickel Tennis Center.
Five of the nine Gamecocks making the trip will make their fall debut in a field that includes Furman, Clemson, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Florida State and Iowa. Six of the eight teams finished in the top 75 of the ITA rankings at the end of 2015, including Vanderbilt, which won the 2015 national title. The field also consists of 12 singles entries and five doubles teams ranked in the preseason ITA rankings.
“We are very excited to see the team in action,” South Carolina head coach Kevin Epley said. “This will be our first road trip as an entire group, and we are anxious to see everyone compete. The Furman tournament always promises tough competition and serves as a benchmark for the rest of the fall. We have been working very hard, and the team should gain confidence from that. Our goal is to play freely and compete hard.”
Three doubles flights begin play Friday at 9 a.m. to kick off the event. South Carolina enters sophomore Hadley Berg and freshman Rachel Rohrabacher into flight one after the duo combined for a win last weekend at the Tribe Invitational. The Gamecocks will have doubles teams competing in flights two and three.
Singles flights get underway Friday at 1 p.m. and include several key matchups for the Gamecocks. Playing in flight one, junior Brigit Folland is set to take on No. 34 Courtney Colton of Vanderbilt. Folland defeated Colton when the two met last spring, 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7). Carolina drew three opening-round matchups with Tennessee as sophomore Megen Cochran squares off with junior Brittany Lindl in flight four, freshman Ellie Zogg faces senior Tiffany Tavares in flight five and freshman Hannah Templeton takes on freshman Margo Taylor in flight six. Freshmen Ingrid Gamarra Martins and Paige Cline get an early shot at foes from Clemson as Gamarra Martins faces freshman Fernanda Navarro in flight three and Cline takes on freshman Jenny Moinard in flight five.
Play continues Saturday and Sunday, starting at 9 a.m. each day.
Carolina excelled in its opening competition of the fall, the Tribe Invitational, last weekend in Williamsburg, Va. Four Gamecocks traveled to compete; Berg, Gamarra Martins and Rohrabacher each finished 3-0 in singles play while Folland went 2-0. The quartet went 3-1 in doubles play, and Berg and Gamarra Martins were named to the all-tournament team as singles competitors.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
SINGLES
1:00 p.m. Brigit Folland (SC) vs. No. 34 Courtney Colton (Vandy) — Flight 1
1:00 p.m. Rachel Rohrabacher (SC) vs. Katarina Weymouth (Furman) — Flight 2
1:00 p.m. Ingrid Gamarra Martins (SC) vs. Fernanda Navarro (Clemson) — Flight 3
1:00 p.m. Hadley Berg (SC) vs. Lana Rush (FSU) — Flight 4
2:30 p.m. Megen Cochran (SC) vs. Brittany Lindl (Tenn.) — Flight 5
2:30 p.m. Ellie Zogg (SC) vs. Tiffany Tavares (Tenn.) — Flight 5
3:00 p.m. Paige Cline (SC) vs. Jenny Moinard (Clemson) – Flight 5
3:00 p.m. Hannah Templeton (SC) vs. Margo Taylor (Tenn.) — Flight 6 (Round Robin)
3:00 p.m. Alison Mills (SC) vs. Carin Runefelt (Iowa) — Flight 6 (Round Robin)
DOUBLES
9:00 a.m. Berg/Rohrabacher (SC) vs. Colton/Contreras (Vandy) — Flight 1
9:00 a.m. Cline/Folland (SC) vs. Bongart/Kermet (Tenn.) — Flight 2
9:00 a.m. Gamarra/Cochran (SC) vs. Rush/Pang (FSU) — Flight 2
9:00 a.m. Tamblyn (Iowa)/Mills (SC) vs. Bryde/Caswell (Furman) — Flight 3
9:00 a.m. Zogg/Templeton (SC) vs. Piontek/Krasilnikov (Clemson) — Flight 3
