Gamecocks Wrap Up Two Tournament Weekend
North Carolina – South Carolina women’s tennis concluded play at both the College Ranked Spotlight in Cary, N.C., and the Charlotte Invite in Charlotte, N.C. on Sunday.
At the Ranked Spotlight, South Carolina won both of their doubles matches of the day with No. T-60 duo Sarah Hamner and Ayana Akli upsetting the nation’s No. 24 pair. The Gamecocks defeated Irina Cantos Siemers and Sydni Ratliff of Ohio State with a strong 6-2 performance.
Senior pair Elise Mills and Ana Cruz also won their doubles match over Daria Frayman and Leena Bennetto of Princeton 6-3.
In singles, No. 2 Hamner played for the A-1 Draw consolation title but fell to No. 50 Mary Stoiana of Texas A&M 6-2, 6-0.
Cruz was the only Gamecock at the Spotlight to earn a singles win on the day, taking down Jaleesa Leslie of UCF with a comeback win. The Brazil native dropped the first set 1-6 but evened the match with a 6-3 second set. The third set was played as a ten-point tiebreaker with Cruz coming out on top 11-9.
At the Charlotte Invite, freshman Annie Jennings earned her first singles win of the weekend. Jennings defeated Maddie Brown of Charlotte in straight-sets 6-4, 6-4.
Akli and Hamner will make the next appearance for the Gamecocks at the ITA All-American Championships in Cary, N.C., October 3-9. Hamner was the first Gamecock to bring home the All-American Champion title at this event last season.
For all the latest South Carolina women’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).
College Ranked Spotlight
Doubles
(T-60) Sarah Hamner/Ayana Akli (SC) def. (24) Irina Cantos Siemers/Sydni Ratliff (OSU) 6-2
Elise Mills/Ana Cruz (SC) def. Daria Frayman/Leena Bennetto (PRIN) 6-3
Singles
A-1 Draw Finals
Consolation Draw
(50) Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. (2) Sarah Hamner (SC) 6-2, 6-0
A-2 Draw Singles Compass Draw – South-Southwest
DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Elise Mills (SC) 7-5, 6-3
A-2 Draw Singles Compass Draw – East-Southeast
Ana Cruz (SC) def. Jaleesa Leslie (UCF) 1-6, 6-3, 11-9
Charlotte Invite
Singles
Annie Jennings (South Carolina) def. Maddie Brown (Charlotte) 6-4, 6-4
Ioana Gheorghita (Penn State) def. Misa Malkin (South Carolina) 6-4, 6-0
