Berg/Cline Fall in NCAA Doubles Quarterfinals

May 28, 2016

TULSA, Okla. — The South Carolina doubles team of sophomore Hadley Berg and freshman Paige Cline saw its historic run at the NCAA Doubles Championships come to an end as No. 1 Haley Carter and Whitney Kay of North Carolina defeated the Gamecocks 6-1, 6-2 Saturday at Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.

“Credit goes to the Tar Heels today,” South Carolina head coach Kevin Epley said. “They executed their game plan and showed us why they are No. 1 in the nation. We were a little off today, and North Carolina capitalized.”

Cline helped the Gamecocks get off to a strong start, opening and closing the first game with an ace to put the Gamecocks up 1-0. The Tar Heel tandem, a day removed from an epic three-set super-tiebreak victory in the Round of 16, rebounded to secure the first set 6-1. The top seed carried its impressive performance into the second set to secure the victory.

Cline and Berg, which knocked off a pair of top-10 opponents in the first two rounds of the event, finish the season 14-8. They posted 11 wins at the top of the lineup this spring, including seven in the SEC. With Friday’s win in the Round of 16, they became just the second tandem in program history to reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships and secure All-America status.