Strong Start for Gamecocks at ITA Carolina Regionals
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – South Carolina women’s tennis got off to a strong start at the ITA Carolina Regional Championships at the Chewning Tennis Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. Freshman Jana Stojanova led the way with a pair of qualifying wins then teamed with Lauren Friedman to knock off a seeded team from Clemson in main draw doubles action.
Stojanova stretched her singles win streak to four with her efficient wins to advance to the main draw. A 6-1, 6-1 win over Western Carolina’s Hokualohi Lui opened the day, and Stojanova needed little more time to dispatch Elon’s Simone Bergeron 6-3, 6-3 in the second round. She will take on Anna Babayan of Coastal Carolina in the main draw first round Friday.
Both of the Gamecocks’ doubles teams advanced on Thursday, joining the nation’s No. 27 team of Sarah Hamner and Kaitlyn Carnicella in the second round. Misa Malkin and Olympe Lancelot dropped just one game to push past Liu and Dasha Osadova of Western Carolina. The Friedman/Stojanova duo drew Ria Bhakta and Artemis Aslanisvili of Clemson, who were among the tournament’s 9-16 seeds. The Gamecock tandem was unbothered in its 8-2 victory to keep all three Gamecock doubles teams in action.
On Friday, five Gamecocks will be in action in the singles main draw. No. 10 Sarah Hamner, who is the tournament’s top seed, will face Ellie Hammond of Davidson. Malkin will take on Duke’s Shavit Kimchi, the tournament’s No. 3 seed. Carnicella, who drew one of the tournament’s 9-16 seeds, will play Prisca Abbas of UNC Charlotte, while Lancelot will face Hind Semlali of SC State.
Complete draws, schedules and results for the ITA All-American Championships will be posted on the ITA Carolina Regionals Tournament Page. Live video and live scores are also available.
Under the new format for NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, players and doubles teams in the ITA Regional Championships can qualify right into the NCAA Championships bracket. The two singles finalists in each region will punch their ticket directly into the NCAA Singles Championships, and the doubles champion from each region will join them in the NCAA Doubles Championships.
Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWTennis) for the most up-to-date information on the women’s tennis season.
South Carolina Results
Singles Qualifying Round 1
Jana Stojanova (SC) def. Hokualohi Lui (WCU) 6-1, 6-1
Teodora Vujicic (SCSU) def. Lauren Friedman (SC) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
Singles Qualifying Round 2
Jana Stojanova (SC) def. Simone Bergeron (ELON) 6-3, 6-3
Singles Qualifying Consolation
Natalie Crawford (GWU) def. Lauren Friedman (SC) 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (13)
Doubles Main Draw Round of 64
Misa Malkin/Olympe Lancelot (SC) def. Hokualohi Lui/Dasha Osadova (WCU) 8-1
Lauren Friedman/Jana Stojanova (SC) def. Ria Bhakta/Artemis Aslanisvili (CLEM) 8-2
