No. 7 South Carolina Topped By No. 3 Vanderbilt
April 12, 2018
No. 3 Vanderbilt 4, No. 7 South Carolina 2
COLUMBIA, S.C. — In a Top-10 matchup between two teams tied for first in the SEC, No. 7 South Carolina women’s tennis (18-5, 10-2 SEC) was defeated by No. 3 Vanderbilt at the Carolina Tennis Center on Thursday.
While No. 32 Hadley Berg and Mia Horvit won their singles matches, the team lost the doubles point and three singles matches, allowing the Commodores to earn their third straight win over South Carolina in the all-time series. Following Saturday’s loss to Florida, Thursday’s match marked the first time the Gamecocks had lost two straight matches this season.
With the loss, South Carolina is out of contention for the SEC regular season title and is guaranteed to finish the year as the No. 3 team in the league — the second-highest finish in program history behind the No. 2 finish in 1996.
DOUBLES
Freshmen Megan Davies and Kennedy Wicker, who were paired together for the first time in their collegiate careers, lost a tough match against Fernanda Contreras and Sumer Dvorak at No. 3 doubles. The match was just Wicker’s second in dual match play and marked her first career dual match doubles loss. The loss moved Davies to 10-4 on the year in dual match doubles play.
Paige Cline‘s and Hadley Berg‘s three-match winning streak in doubles snapped against No. 55 Emily Smith and Emma Kurtz at No. 1 doubles. The All-Americans trailed by two games, 2-4, but were able to rally and close the gap to one game, 4-5. Kurtz and Smith took the last game to clinch the doubles point.
DOUBLES
1. #71 Emma Kurtz/Emily Smith (VANDY) def. #55 Hadley Berg / Paige Cline (SC) 6-4
2. Mia Horvit / Ingrid Gamarra Martins (SC) vs. Christina Rosca/Amanda Meyer (VANDY) 5-3, unfinished
3. Fernanda Contreras/Summer Dvorak (VANDY) def. Megan Davies / Kennedy Wicker (SC) 6-0
Order of finish
3, 1
SINGLES
After losing her singles match against Florida on Saturday, Mia Horvit was the first off the court for the Gamecocks with a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles over Amanda Meyer. The All-American sophomore was tied with Meyer, 3-3, in the first set, before pushing past her for the 6-4 win. In the second set, Horvit dominated, dropping just one game en route to her ninth win of the season. All nine of Horvit’s wins this season have come in straight sets. She is 7-3 over her last 10 matches.
Similar to Horvit, No. 32 Hadley Berg bounced back from last weekend with a big win at No. 2 singles over No. 50 Christina Rosca, 6-2, 6-2. The senior trailed in her first set, 1-2, before winning five straight games to take the win. In the second set, Berg lost the first game and was able to come back against Rosca for her 11th win of the season.
Megan Davies‘ five-match winning streak was snapped in her loss at No. 5 singles to Summer Dvorak. The freshman started off strong in a battle with Dvorak, 1-1, but fell into a 2-4 hole and lost the first set. In the second set, Dvorak took control and handed Davies her fourth loss of the season and second in SEC play.
After Davies lost her match, Ingrid Gamarra Martins fell in a tough battle with No. 6 Fernanda Contreras at No. 1 singles. Gamarra Martins trailed early in both sets, 1-2, before Contreras took control and was able to give Vanderbilt a 3-2 team lead. The loss was Gamarra Martins’ second straight in league play and marked her fourth of the season.
Emily Smith clinched the match for Vanderbilt with her win in three sets over Kennedy Wicker at No. 6 singles. Wicker dominated the first set, 6-2, but dropped the next two in her first career singles match in dual match play.
SINGLES
1. #6 Fernanda Contreras (VANDY) def. #58 Ingrid Gamarra Martins (SC) 6-3, 7-5
2. #32 Hadley Berg (SC) def. #50 Christina Rosca (VANDY) 6-2, 6-2
3. Mia Horvit (SC) def. Amanda Meyer (VANDY) 6-4, 6-1
4. Paige Cline (SC) vs. Emma Kurtz (VANDY) 3-6, 6-2, 1-1, unfinished
5. Summer Dvorak (VANDY) def. Megan Davies (SC) 6-2, 6-4
6. Emily Smith (VANDY) def. Kennedy Wicker (SC) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish
3, 2, 5, 1, 6
QUOTABLE
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- In doubles, Gamarra Martins and Horvit have won four straight matches and lead the team at 8-1 in SEC play. Their match went unfinished against Amanda Meyer and Christina Rosca of Vanderbilt, but they were leading 5-3 when it was abandoned.
- The doubles duo of Paige Cline and Hadley Berg had its three-match win streak snapped on Thursday. Cline and Berg are now 5-2 in SEC doubles play at No. 1.
- With Thursday’s loss in doubles to Vanderbilt, the Gamecocks have won nine doubles points in 12 SEC matches this season. Their two losses in doubles came against Georgia on March 18 and Vanderbilt on April 12. The team did not play doubles in its loss to Florida due to impending rain in the forecast.
- Hadley Berg’s 23-6 singles record this season has her at 97-33 overall, three wins shy of 100 on her career, with a winning percentage of .746 that ranks seventh in school history. She is looking to become just the fourth player in school history with 100 wins.
- With her win Thursday, Mia Horvit improved to 5-1 at No. 3 singles this season.
- Berg passed Natasa Vuckovic to become fifth on the South Carolina career singles wins list with 97 overall.
- Megan Davies‘ five-match winning streak was snapped in her loss at No. 5 singles to Summer Dvorak. The freshman is 11-4 in 2018 dual match play and 8-2 over her last 10 matches.
- All nine of Horvit’s wins this dual match season have come in straight sets. She is 7-3 over her last 10 matches.
- While her match was abandoned Thursday, Cline holds a six-match winning streak in SEC play dating back to her win over Alexa Bortles at No. 7 Ole Miss on March 3.
- South Carolina is now 8-4 against ranked opponents this season, including wins at No. 7 Ole Miss, No. 11 Texas, No. 35 Texas A&M, No. 36 LSU, No. 30 Tennessee, No. 8 Georgia, No. 15 Auburn and No. 48 Arkansas.
UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
The Gamecocks will host No. 23 Kentucky in their last regular season match at 1 p.m. Saturday. Against Kentucky, South Carolina holds a 23-15 all-time series advantage and a five-match winning streak dating back to April 11, 2014. Free ice cream in souvenir cups will be available during Saturday’s match, which will also include a Senior Day ceremony for Berg. The ceremony will start 20 minutes prior to match time at 12:40 p.m. Saturday’s match will have a ‘block party’ theme, including free food and games.
Following Saturday’s match, the Gamecocks will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for the 2018 SEC Tournament, hosted by the University of Tennessee. With its guaranteed third-place finish in the league, South Carolina has earned a first and second round bye in the SEC Tournament. The tournament bracket will be released on April 15.
For updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).
