No. 6 Carolina Outlasts No. 23 Kentucky, 4-3; Sweeps the Weekend

LEXINGTON, Ky. – South Carolina senior Paige Cline lifted her team to a, 4-3, victory over Kentucky with her three-set win on Sunday afternoon at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.
 
The No. 6 Gamecocks’ (12-3, 7-1 SEC) close win over the No. 23 Wildcats (15-4, 5-3 SEC) was their second of the weekend, including a, 4-0, defeat of No. 5 Vanderbilt on Friday, earning Carolina a conference sweep.
 
“Kentucky is a tough place to play and we really didn’t come out ready to go in doubles,” head coach Kevin Epley said. “Luckily, we had some key players turn things around and get some points on the board early. The match ended well for us. Paige stepped up big and played a nearly flawless third set to break the tie and clinch the match for us.”
 
With the match tied at 3-3, Cline was the last one in action on court two and fighting for a win. Cline won a first set that went back-and-forth, 6-4, against Lesedi Jacobs. In the second set, Jacobs held a steady lead, taking it, 6-2, and forcing a third set as the deciding match. In the final set, Cline dominated Jacobs for a, 6-1, victory, claiming her match, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, and clinching the overall match, 4-3, for South Carolina.
 
Leading up to the suspenseful win, the Gamecocks fell in doubles to Kentucky. At the No. 1 position, No. 1-ranked Ingrid Gamarra Martins and Mia Horvit dropped their match to No. 14 Justina Mikulskyte and Akvile Parazinskaite, 6-3. On court three, Kennedy Wicker and Megan Davies lost, 6-4, opposite of Jacobs and Alexis Merrill, allowing the Wildcats the doubles point.
 
Coming off the doubles loss, Silvia Chinellato quickly took down Tkachenko at the No. 5 spot, 6-2, 6-3, tying the score, 1-1.
 
Davies gave the Gamecocks the, 2-1, advantage, after topping Parazinskaite on court four. In the first set, the two traded games before Davies took it, 6-4. Davies blanked Parazinskaite in the second set, 6-0, for her straight-set victory, 6-4, 6-0.
 
At the No. 1 position, No. 7-ranked Gamarra Martins was not able to find her groove against No. 35 Mikulskyte, falling in the match, 6-1, 6-3.
 
With the two programs knotted, 2-2, No. 118 Horvit prevailed opposite of Fiquet. Horvit took an easy first set, 6-2, at the No. 3 spot. In the second set, Horvit and Fiquet found themselves tied, 4-4. Horvit claimed two games in-a-row for her, 6-2, 6-4, match win, giving the lead back to the Gamecocks, 3-2.
 
On court six, Wicker dropped her match to Anastasia Tkachenko, 6-3, 6-4, bringing the overall score to 3-3.
 
Cline then earned her three-set victory, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, to clinch the match, 4-3, for South Carolina.
 
Up next, Carolina takes on Texas A&M at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, March 29 in College Station, Texas. Following, the Gamecocks take on LSU in Baton Rouge, La., at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 31.
 
Continue to check back with gamecocksonline.com for more updates or follow the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).