No. 14 Gamecocks Top Cal, 4-1; Advance to Championship
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina women’s tennis team took down California, 4-1, in the opening match of ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the Carolina Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon.
No. 14-ranked Carolina (1-1, 0-0) handed Cal (1-1, 0-0) its first loss of the season in the 1 vs. 4 seed matchup.
Competing on court two, No. 23 Megan Davies and Rachel Rohrabacher led throughout their match, claiming the first win of the day, 6-3, over Olivia Hauger and Julia Rosenqvist.
No. 11-ranked Ingrid Gamarra Martins and Mia Horvit came back from being down, 4-0, to win the match, 6-4, against No. 17 Anna Bright and Jasie Dunk. The duo took six-straight games at the No. 1 spot, clinching the doubles point and putting South Carolina up, 1-0.
“We have been working hard to get back on track after a lackluster effort in Melbourne and (Saturday) was a step in the right direction,” head coach Kevin Epley said. “We have some work to do for (Sunday), but we got the job done when we needed to (Saturday), which is always a good thing.”
Kicking things off in singles, Davies cruised to a, 6-2, 6-2, win at the No. 4 spot opposite of Katerina Stloukalova, giving the Gamecocks a, 2-0, lead.
Shortly after, Rohrabacher fought back from behind in her second set, making it 3-0, Carolina, with her, 6-2, 6-3, victory over Hana Mraz on court six.
On court one, No. 12 Gamarra Martins and No. 47 Rosenqvist went back-and-forth in the first set. The Golden Bear proved to be too much for Gamarra Martins, with Rosenqvist coming out on top, 7-5, 6-1, and scoring California’s only point on the day.
With just one more match to win the overall, No. 69 Horvit had a, 5-4, 40-15, lead in her second set against No. 57 Bright. Bright brought it to 40-40, but Horvit sent one down the line, claiming her match, 6-3, 6-4, and clinching the overall for her team, 4-1.
Up next, the Gamecocks take on the winner of Wake Forest and Arizona State’s 2 vs. 3 matchup on Sunday at 2 p.m., in the championship match at the Carolina Tennis Center.
#14 South Carolina 4, California 1
Doubles Results
#11 Gamarra Martins/Horvit (SC) def. #17 Bright/Dunk (CAL) 6-4
#23 Davies/Rohrabacher (SC) def. Hauger/Rosenqvist (CAL) 6-3
Mraz/Stloukalova (CAL) def. Cline/Wicker (SC) 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles Results
#57 Julia Rosenqvist (CAL) def. #12 Ingrid Gamarra Martins (SC) 7-5, 6-1
#25 Paige Cline (SC) vs. #35 Olivia Hauger (CAL) 5-7, 1-2 DNF
#69 Mia Horvit (SC) def. #57 Anna Bright (CAL) 6-3, 6-4
Megan Davies (SC) def. Katerina Stloukalova (CAL) 6-2, 6-2
Silvia Chinellato (SC) vs. Maria Smith (CAL) 6-7 (6), 3-1 DNF
Rachel Rohrabacher (SC) def. Hana Mraz (CAL) 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: 4, 6, 1, 3
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