Women's Tennis . February 9, 2018

No. 19 South Carolina Blanked By No. 9 Duke In ITA Indoors Opening Match

Feb. 9, 2018

ITA National Indoors: No. 19 South Carolina vs. No. 9 Duke

MADISON, Wis. — In its first test against a ranked opponent this season, No. 19 South Carolina women’s tennis (4-2) was swept in the first round of play at the ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championships at Nielsen Tennis Stadium on Friday.

Duke earned the doubles point and won three straight singles matches, eliminating South Carolina from ITA Indoors championship contention and extending its winning streak over the Gamecocks to eight matches.

DOUBLES

The Gamecocks put up a tough fight against Duke, which possesses two of the top 5 doubles tandems in the nation, according to ITA rankings. The No. 2-ranked duo of Kaitlyn McCarthy and Ellyse Hamlin battled back and forth with All-Americans Paige Cline and Hadley Berg, who entered the match at 1-0 after a 6-3 win over Clemson last Thursday. McCarthy and Hamlin took an early 3-2 lead before rattling off three straight game victories in their 6-2 win.

The two remaining doubles matches both came down to tiebreakers. Silvia Chinellato and Ingrid Gamarra Martins jumped out to an early 3-2 lead over the No. 5-ranked doubles tandem in the nation of Samantha Harris and Kelly Chen. Trading points back and forth with the Gamecocks, Chen and Harris were able to tie the score, 6-6, and ultimately sealed the doubles point with a 7-6(3) victory. The loss snapped the duo’s three-match winning streak at No. 1 doubles and was its first of 2018.

DOUBLES

1. #5 Samantha Harris/Kelly Chen (Duke) def. Silvia Chinellato/Ingrid Gamarra Martins (SC) 7-6(3)

2. #2 Kaitlyn McCarthy/Ellyse Hamlin (Duke) def. Hadley Berg/Paige Cline (SC) 6-2

3. Meible Chi/Hannah Zhao (Duke) vs. Megan Davies/Rachel Rohrabacher (SC) 6-6 unfinished

Order of finish

2, 1

SINGLES

After registering the Gamecocks’ first perfect singles win of the season in last Thursday’s match against Clemson, Megan Davies struggled against No. 106-ranked singles player Meible Chi. The loss in straight sets was Davies’ first of the season at the No. 5 singles spot and snapped her three-match winning streak. At the No. 4 spot, Silvia Chinellato faced a tough opponent in No. 119-ranked singles player Ellyse Hamlin, who went on to win 6-1, 6-2. Hamlin took an early 5-1 lead in the first set, and powered past Chinellato from there. The loss snapped Chinellato’s two-match winning streak and was her first at the No. 4 spot this season. At No. 3 singles, Ingrid Gamarra Martins lost her first match of the 2018 campaign. Gamarra Martins easily captured the first set against No. 30-ranked singles player Kelly Chen, 6-1. She took a 4-3 lead in the second set, but allowed it to reach a tiebreaker, where Chen mounted a 7-6(3) comeback. With the momentum in her favor, Chen went on to win the third set, 6-1, sealing the team win for the seven-seeded Blue Devils.

SINGLES

1. #9 Samantha Harris (Duke) vs. #118 Mia Horvit (SC) 5-7, 6-6 unfinished

2. #65 Kaitlyn McCarthy (Duke) vs. #38 Hadley Berg (SC) 6-4, 3-6, 3-4 unfinished

3. #30 Kelly Chen (Duke) def. Ingrid Gamarra Martins (SC) 1-6, 7-6(3), 6-1

4. #119 Ellyse Hamlin (Duke) def. Silvia Chinellato (SC) 6-1, 6-2

5. #106 Meible Chi (Duke) def. Megan Davies (SC) 6-2, 6-2

6. Hannah Zhao (Duke) vs. Rachel Rohrabacher (SC) 5-7, 6-3, 5-4 unfinished

Order of finish

5, 4, 3

QUOTABLE

“Duke played very well today and was too much for us to overcome. The Blue Devils took care of the little things well and were very strong in certain spots. The score was 4-0, but we had some close bouts, and for a moment there, I thought we were going to turn it around. We just have to regroup and get back at it Saturday against a tough Texas squad.” — Head Coach Kevin Epley

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

With the loss in the first round of ITA Indoors, the Gamecocks will face No. 11 Texas, which lost to Georgia on Friday, in a consolation match at 9 a.m. Saturday. All consolation matches will count towards the Gamecocks’ 2018 dual match record.

Following the conclusion of ITA Indoors, the Gamecocks will host North Florida and Charleston Southern in a dual match doubleheader on Feb. 24, beginning at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.

SCOUTING NO. 11 TEXAS

The Longhorns own a 5-2 team record in 2018. Georgia defeated them in Friday’s opening ITA Indoors Match, 4-2.
Texas’ roster is composed of four freshmen, four sophomores, two juniors and one senior.
Ranked in singles: Bianca Turati (1), Anna Turati (41), Petra Granic (64), Bojana Markovic (115)
South Carolina defeated Texas, 4-3, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. The Gamecocks and Longhorns are 2-2 in the all-time series. Prior to the 2017 NCAA Tournament, the last time South Carolina defeated Texas was a 7-2 win at home in 1980.
Bianca Turati is the No. 1 ranked singles player in the nation, according to the ITA. She was defeated in the first round of the NCAA Singles Championship last season.
Head Coach Howard Joffe is in his third season with Texas after serving four seasons (2012-15) as the head women’s tennis coach at Texas A&M.
Last season, Texas finished with a 14-9 overall record. The team advanced to the semifinals of the Big 12 Championships, but was defeated by Texas Tech, 4-2.

For updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).