Women's Tennis . April 1, 2021

Gamecocks Post Third Upset in a Row, Beat No. 19 Vanderbilt 4-1

South Carolina Continues to Roll With Fifth Consecutive Win

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The No. 29 South Carolina women’s tennis team posted its third upset in a row with a 4-1 victory against No. 19 Vanderbilt on Thursday at the Carolina Tennis Center in Columbia, S.C.

The Gamecocks are now 9-9 overall with their fifth consecutive win and 6-5 in the SEC, while the Commodores suffered their fourth loss in a row, dropping to 12-6 and 4-6 in the league.

Doubles Recap

South Carolina’s No. 3 duo of Allie Gretkowski and Ana Cruz once again delivered by finishing first. The tandem improved to 9-0 this season on court three after winning easily against Christina Rosca and Anessa Lee by a 6-2 score. Gretkowski and Cruz also improved to 7-1 in SEC matches this spring and are 9-2 overall.

Vanderbilt had control of court one from the beginning, with No. 54 Anna Ross and Holly Staff jumping out to a 4-1 lead over No. 16 Mia Horvit and Megan Davies. Horvit and Davies, however, fought their way slowly back into the match and closed the gap to 4-3. The Commodores then regained the upper hand and won the next two games to win 6-3.

The deciding court came down to No. 2, which had match point just as court one finished. Silvia Chinellato and Emma Shelton from South Carolina led No. 58 Emma Kurtz and Marcella Cruz 5-3 with Shelton serving. After getting a 30-0 lead, Vandy got the game to 30-40. Chinellato and Shelton, however, were too tough and hung on to win 6-3 to give the Gamecocks a 1-0 advantage heading to singles play.

Singles Recap

The Gamecocks continued their run of outstanding singles play against the Commodores, taking the first sets on four of the six courts. During South Carolina’s current five-match winning streak, the Gamecocks have boasted a 16-3 record in singles matches and gone undefeated on courts one, two, four and six.

Emma Shelton scored Carolina’s first point in singles, extending her winning streak to four matches. She upended Anna Ross by a 6-2, 6-1 count on court three.

Right on Shelton’s heels, Ana Cruz posted the next victory for South Carolina, dropping just one game to Marcella Cruz at the No. 6 slot. Her 6-1, 6-0 triumph was her second in a row.

The Commdores managed to get on the board right after Cruz’s win, as Anessa Lee finished off her contest with Allie Gretkowski by winning 6-1, 6-2 on court five.

It was a waiting game between courts two and four with the Gamecocks leading 3-1 and looking for just one more point. Megan Davies, ranked No. 46, had a 6-3, 4-0 lead on Emma Kurtz at two and appeared the likely candidate to secure it. Kurtz, however, would not go quietly and grabbed a couple games to make it 4-2.

With Kurtz continuing to fight on court two, it opened a door for Silvia Chinellato to close out the win in three-set fashion at four singles. After she won the first set against Holly Staff 6-0, Staff took the second 6-2. Chinellato came out fired up in the third and played a nearly flawless set to clinch the victory with a 6-0 score in the frame. It was particularly satisfying for Chinellato, as it marked her third three-set match in a row, but she was unable to finish the previous two since they were suspended with the team outcomes decided.

Davies finished up with a 5-2 lead in the second on Kurtz and was two points away from taking the match. The No. 1 singles match between 39th-ranked Mia Horvit and No. 49 Christina Rosca was suspended with Rosca winning the first set 6-4 and Horvit leading the second 4-2.

Notes

South Carolina has won five matches in a row and four of those five have come against teams with higher rankings.
The Gamecocks won the doubles point for the 12th time in 18 matches this season.
Allie Gretkowski and Ana Cruz are still undefeated at No. 3 doubles this season with a 9-0 record, and they are 7-1 in SEC matches.
Emma Shelton is currently riding a four-match winning streak.
Silvia Chinellato played a three-set match for the third match in a row.
Head coach Kevin Epley is now four career wins shy of 300 for his career.
South Carolina has won three straight over Vanderbilt and improved to 19-23 all-time against the Commodores.