No. 15 Gamecocks Take Down No. 20 Texas Tech, 4-1
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina women’s tennis team defeated Texas Tech, 4-1, earning its fourth-consecutive win on Sunday afternoon at the Carolina Tennis Center.
After the victory, the No. 15 Gamecocks move to 4-1 overall, 0-0 SEC, while the No. 20T Red Raiders fall to 3-2 overall, 0-0 Big 12. Sunday’s match also marked the fifth-straight doubles point Carolina has won, sweeping the season.
No. 11-ranked Ingrid Gamarra Martins and Mia Horvit opened up play with a dominating, 6-1, victory over Lana Rush and Kennedy Bridgforth at the No. 1 spot.
On court three, Silvia Chinellato and Paige Cline battled back-and-forth with Olivia Peet and Francesca Sella. The Gamecocks found themselves down after every other point, finally tying it, 4-4. Chinellato and Cline took two-straight games for a, 6-4, win, putting their team up, 1-0, heading into singles.
“It was a very, very strong day,” head coach Kevin Epley said. “Texas Tech, man, they are a feisty team. We knew that coming in. We saw them at NCAAs last year when they took down Texas. They get a lot out of that team. They’re a lot like us – they fight really, really hard. We had two match points still out there on the court when the match ended and they just didn’t give up. We really had to step on the gas at the right times to get the win (Sunday). Real happy with the girls.”
Rachel Rohrabacher dropped her first set, 6-1, against Peet at the No. 6 spot. Rohrabacher fought hard in her second set, trading games with Peet and tying the match, 4-4. Ultimately, Rohrabacher was not able to overcome Peet, falling, 6-1, 6-4, and evening the score, 1-1.
At the No. 3 position, No. 69 Horvit earned a, 6-3, first-set win opposite of Denise-Antonela Stocia. In her second set, Horvit dropped only one game to the Red Raider, coming out on top, 6-3, 6-1, and gaining the lead back for Carolina, 2-1.
Making the score 3-1, Gamecocks, Chinellato won her match in identical sets, 6-3, 6-3, over Kennedy Bridgforth on court five.
With the, 3-1, lead, South Carolina’s No. 12-ranked Gamarra Martins was up, 5-2, 40-40, in her third set on court one; No. 25 Cline held a, 5-3, 40-30, lead at the No. 2 position; on court four, Megan Davies led, 5-3, 40-40.
Racing to clinch, Cline was the Gamecock who came out on top. In her first set, Cline led Nell Miller, 5-3. The Red Raider made a run, tying the match, 5-5. Cline was able to fend off Miller, taking the first set, 7-5. It looked like the two were going to go back-and-forth again in the second, but Cline took a, 4-3, lead and never looked back. She claimed her match, 7-5, 6-3, and clinched Carolina’s fourth-straight victory, 4-1.
Next, the Gamecocks head to Seattle, Wash., for ITA National Team Indoors hosted by the University of Washington at the Seattle Tennis Club from Feb. 8-11.
Continue to check back with gamecocksonline.com for more updates or follow the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).
