No. 10 Gamecocks Drop 4-3 Heartbreaker at No. 13 Auburn

April 8, 2016

Pos.	*Singles (1, 3, 5, 2, 6, 4)**	Score
1.	#26 Andie Dikosavljevic (AUB) d. #83 Caroline Dailey (SC)	6-0, 6-2
2.	#40 Alizee Michaud (AUB) d. #63 Ingrid Gamarra Martins (SC)	3-6, 6-4, 6-4
3.	Paige Cline (SC) d. #71 Pleun Burgmans (AUB)	7-6 (5), 6-4
4.	Alannah Griffin (AUB) d. Hadley Berg (SC)	6-3, 6-7 (4),
5.	Brigit Folland (SC) d. Paula de Man (AUB)	6-4, 7-5
6.	Ximena Siles Luna (SC) d. Caroline Turner (AUB)	6-3, 7-6 (7)

Pos.	*Doubles (2, 3, 1)**	Score
1.	#22 Michaud/Burgmans (AUB) d. #24 Berg/Cline (SC)	6-2
2.	Dailey/Folland (SC) vs. Turner/de Man (AUB)	6-1
3.	Dikosavljevic/Griffin (AUB) d. Martins/Rohrabacher (SC)	6-2

AUBURN, ALA. — No. 10 South Carolina women’s tennis dropped a tough match at No. 13 Auburn, 4-3, on Sunday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. The Gamecocks rallied from a 2-0 deficit to even the score at 3-3, but the Tigers mounted a late rally in the third set at No. 4 singles to claim the victory.

The Gamecocks fall to 7-3 in SEC play and 15-5 overall, while the Tigers improve to 8-2 in the SEC and 20-4 overall.

In doubles play, Carolina struck first as juniors Caroline Dailey and Brigit Folland scored an impressive 6-1 win at No. 2 for their fifth win in SEC play. The Gamecocks were unable to close out doubles as Auburn earned a pair of 6-2 wins at No. 1 and No. 3 to take a 1-0 lead. The Tigers extended their lead to 2-0 as No. 26 Andie Dikosavljevic topped No. 83 Caroline Dailey, 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1.

The Gamecocks, however, swung momentum with first-set wins on each of the five remaining singles courts. Freshman Paige Cline capitalized with a straight-set win at No. 3 over No. 71 Pleun Burgmans to put South Carolina on the board. The California native posted her third ranked win of 2015-16 after a 7-5 win in the first-set tiebreaker and a 6-4 triumph in the second set. Folland evened the score at 2-2, posting a 6-4, 7-5 victory at No. 5 for her sixth SEC win.

The Tigers struck back, forcing a third set at No. 2 and taking the match, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Carolina was quick to answer as senior Ximena Siles Luna earned a hard-fought 6-3, 7-6 (7) victory at No. 6. The match came down to court four, where sophomore Hadley Berg held a lead in her third set, but ultimately fell 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 to give the Tigers the victory.

Quotable

Head Coach Kevin Epley

“Auburn was too tough down the stretch today. We came out flat in doubles and certainly had some opportunities in singles, but a had a hard time finishing them off. Credit to the Tigers for hanging in there when their backs were against the wall. It’s back to work tomorrow to get ready for a tough Alabama squad Sunday.”

Match Changer

After the Gamecocks took the first set on five of six singles courts, Auburn rebounded to force third sets on courts two and four where they went on to earn victories.

Notables

South Carolina moves to 3-2 against top-15 teams on the season.
Junior Brigit Folland earned her 20th singles win of 2015-16 and 60th singles win of her career.
Senior Ximena Siles Luna has now won three of her last four matches.
Junior Caroline Dailey and Folland improved to 5-4 in the SEC as a doubles tandem.

Up Next

Carolina is at No. 56 Alabama on Sunday with first serve at 2 p.m.