Dailey Falls in NCAA Singles First Round
May 25, 2016
TULSA, Okla. — South Carolina women’s tennis junior and 58th-ranked Caroline Dailey fell to No. 17 Catherine Harrison of UCLA in the First Round of the NCAA Singles Championship at Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla., on Wednesday.
Harrison used her strong serve to gain an early 1-0 lead in the first set. Dailey was even at 30-30 in the second game, but the Bruin senior was able to break serve for a 2-0 lead before taking the first set.
After trailing 3-0 to open the second set, Dailey was able to find her form and turn things around. The Sarasota, Fla., native earned back-to-back points, holding serve and then breaking her opponent’s, to pull within 3-2. Looking to gain the momentum, she battled her way to 40-40 in the next game, but fell in the deciding point after a forehand went long. Harrison ran away with it from there to capture the 6-0, 6-3 victory and advance to take on the winner of top-seeded Hayley Carter of North Carolina and Wisconsin’s Lauren Chypha in the Second Round.
Dailey’s junior campaign comes to an end after helping the Gamecocks to one of its most successful seasons in school history. The Sarasota, Fla., native played at the top of the singles lineup and posted three wins over top-30 opponents, which helped elevate South Carolina into the Top 10 for the first time since 1983 behind a program-best nine SEC victories.
South Carolina’s top doubles duo, 29th-ranked Hadley Berg and Paige Cline, are set to open the 32-team NCAA Doubles Championships on Thursday as they take on Ohio State’s Miho Kowase and Anna Sanford, who are ranked No. 9 in the nation. Information, including live scoring, on both men’s and women’s individual championships is available at www.TulsaHurricane.com.
