No. 7 Women's Tennis Falls In 3rd Round Of SEC Tournament
April 20, 2018
Arkansas 4, No. 7 South Carolina 2
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 7 South Carolina women’s tennis (19-6, 11-2 SEC) was defeated by Arkansas in the third round of the SEC Tournament on Friday at Barksdale Tennis Stadium.
The Gamecocks led 2-0 after winning the doubles point and Megan Davies earning a singles victory on Court 5, but allowed Arkansas to win four straight points en route to a 4-2 victory. The loss eliminated the Gamecocks from the tournament and snapped their three-match winning streak over Arkansas dating back to March 5, 2016.
DOUBLES
The Gamecocks won the doubles point in two straight match victories at No. 2 and No. 3.
Ingrid Gamarra Martins and Mia Horvit earned a dominant 6-1 win over Giulia Pairone and Mia Jurasic on Court 2. The tandem won five straight games, dropped the next one and won the final game to take the match.
Rachel Rohrabacher and Megan Davies secured the team’s 11th doubles point in SEC play with a 7-5 win at No. 3 doubles over Agne Cepelyte and Natsuho Arakawa. Rohrabacher and Davies won the first two games, but Cepelyte and Arakawa won the next two to tie the score, 2-2. From there, Rohrabacher and Davies took a 4-3 lead before capturing the point, 7-5.
DOUBLES
1. #66 Hadley Berg / Paige Cline (SC) vs. #40 Ana Oparenovic/Tatum Rice (AR) 6-6 (1-0), unfinished
2. Ingrid Gamarra Martins / Mia Horvit (SC) def. Giulia Pairone/Mia Jurasic (AR) 6-1
3. Rachel Rohrabacher / Megan Davies (SC) def. Agne Cepelyte/Natsuho Arakawa (AR) 7-5
Order of finish
2, 3
SINGLES
The Gamecocks took a 2-0 lead with Megan Davies‘ victory in straight sets on Court 5. The win helped Davies make South Carolina program history as the freshman with the most combined wins in a single season with 53.
Whie she won her first set in dominant fashion, 6-0, Paige Cline was defeated by Natsuho Arakawa on Court 4. The loss snapped Cline’s seven-match winning streak.
Arkansas tied the score at 2-2 with Ana Oparenovic’s victory in straight sets over Mia Horvit at No. 2 singles. With the match tied at 2-2, all three remaining singles matches went into tight third sets.
Arkansas took its first match lead with Silvia Chinellato‘s loss at No. 6 singles. Chinellato returned to the lineup after an injury sidelined her since early February and Friday’s match marked her first of the 2018 SEC season. The sophomore dropped the first set after a tough battle, but rebounded in the second set with a 6-3 win. Similar to the first set, the third set was a battle that didn’t go in Chinellato’s favor.
Arkansas clinched the come-from-behind win with Mia Jurasic’s win over No. 30 Hadley Berg at No. 3 singles. Berg dominated the first set, 6-0, but dropped the next two. The loss was just Berg’s second at No. 3 singles this season.
SINGLES
1. #59 Ingrid Gamarra Martins (SC) vs. #50 Giulia Pairone (AR) 3-6, 6-3, 6-5, unfinished
2. #89 Ana Oparenovic (AR) def. Mia Horvit (SC) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
3. Mia Jurasic (AR) def. #30 Hadley Berg (SC) 0-6, 7-5, 6-3
4. Natsuho Arakawa (AR) def. Paige Cline (SC) 0-6, 6-1, 6-3
5. #123 Megan Davies (SC) def. Tatum Rice (AR) 6-3, 6-2
6. Jackie Carr (AR) def. Silvia Chinellato (SC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
Order of finish
5, 4, 2, 6, 3
QUOTABLE
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- Megan Davies’ combined 53 wins in singles (28) and doubles (25) this season are the most in a single season in school history by a Gamecock freshman. Ana Marija Zubori set the mark of 52 in 2006-07 after winning 31 singles and 21 doubles matches. Davies’ 53 wins are tied for ninth on the program list for most wins in a single season.
- The Gamecocks have won 11 doubles points in 14 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.
- Davies is just the seventh player in school history to post 25 wins in singles and doubles for a season. This is only the ninth time it has been done in school history. The last Gamecock to do it was Meghan Blevins in 2014-15 when she won 27 matches in both singles and doubles.
- Paige Cline‘s seven-match winning streak was snapped Friday. The streak previously dated back to Cline’s win over Alexa Bortles at No. 7 Ole Miss on March 3. All seven of those wins came in straight sets.
UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
With their elimination from the SEC Tournament, the Gamecocks’ next match will be in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament selection show takes place on May 1 at 4 p.m.
For updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).
