March 3, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Sophomore Hadley Berg and freshman Paige Cline of the South Carolina women’s tennis team won the doubles draw at the SHAPE Magazine Invitational in Charleston, S.C., on Thursday, qualifying them for participation in the WTA’s prestigious Volvo Car Open. The Gamecock tandem defeated the team of Lauren Herring, a professional who played at No. 1 singles for Georgia last year, and Gamecock junior Caroline Dailey, 7-5, 5-7, 10-3.

Formerly known as the Family Circle Cup, the Volvo Car Open dates back to 1973 and is the largest women’s-only tournament in the world. The weeklong event takes place April 4-10 on Daniel Island in Charleston, S.C., with previous winners including Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Martina Hingis, Martina Navratilova, Justine Henin and Steffi Graf, among others.

Berg and Cline navigated through three rounds in the SHAPE Magazine Invitational on their way to the title. They defeated College of Charleston tandem Liza Fieldsend and Katherine Schofield in Tuesday’s opening round, 8-3, before taking down Vanderbilt’s duo of senior Frances Altick and junior Sydney Campbell, 9-8 (4), Wednesday afternoon. Campbell and fellow Commodore Courtney Colton make up the nation’s ninth-ranked doubles team in the ITA system.

Berg and Cline lead South Carolina with a 4-0 mark at No. 1 doubles this spring. The Gamecocks have won eight doubles points in 10 matches this season en route to an 8-2 team record and a No. 12 team ranking, their highest ranking since 2002.

South Carolina opens SEC play this weekend as it hosts home contests against Missouri on March 3 at 5 p.m. and Arkansas on March 5 at 1 p.m. Parking and admission to all home matches are free.