Dailey and Horvit Fall in Thrilling Doubles Title Match at ITA Regionals

Oct. 24, 2016

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Gamecock women’s tennis team closed out play at the ITA Carolina Regional Championships on Monday morning in Chapel Hill. The doubles team of senior Caroline Dailey and freshman Mia Horvit fell in a thrilling, three-set title match to Duke’s Ellyse Hamlin and Samantha Harris.

“We started a bit off today but hung around and kicked it into gear at the end of the second set,” said head coach Kevin Epley. “We carried it over into the tiebreaker and it looked like we were going to run away with it, but we let up at some key times.”

Hamlin and Harris grabbed an early stranglehold on the match when they captured the first set by a score of 6-3. However, Dailey and Horvit battled back to earn a 7-5 second set victory, forcing a decisive third set tiebreaker that saw Duke’s duo grind out a 10-8 win after Carolina took an early 4-1 lead in the ten-point tiebreak. Despite the defeat, Epley is optimistic about the tandem moving forward, particularly because this is the first weekend the two have competed together at a tournament.

“Overall, it was a great tournament for Mia and Caroline,” said Epley. “They have shown that they can play great doubles together, so we’re looking forward to seeing them compete again soon.”

The Gamecocks return to the court for one final weekend of fall action Nov. 3-6 when the team splits up between the Kitty Harrison Invitational and the SoCal Invitational.