Women's Tennis . February 8, 2025

Gamecocks Drop Match Against Georgia Tech

ATLANTA, Ga. – Despite a late attempted comeback from the No. 22 South Carolina women’s tennis team, the Gamecocks ultimately fell to Georgia Tech 4-2 in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. The Garnet & Black earned one doubles and two singles wins.

Sarah Hamner and Helena Buchwald took down No. 74 Given Roach and Alejandra Cruz 6-2 to claim their first ranked win as a duo of the season. The Yellow Jackets responded seconds later with a win from court 3 as Kate Sharabura and Taly Licht topped Misa Malkin and Olympe Lancelot by the same margin. It all came down to court 2 where Kaitlyn Carnicella and Bella Bergkvist Larsson were playing duos together for the first time. The two started off slow, trailing Kylie Bilchev and Scarlett Nicholson for the first half of the match before the Gamecocks managed to make up a two-point deficit and tie everything up 3-all. The pairs went back and forth, exchanging games for a while until the Yellow Jackets pulled away for a two-game streak when the score was 5-all to secure the doubles point with a 7-5 win.

Singles action got off to an uneasy start for the Gamecocks as the Yellow Jackets claimed first set wins across five courts. Buchwald sparked momentum for the Garnet & Black from the No. 6 position, winning her first set 6-3 to keep the team in contention. The first singles match ended on court 1 where Hamner fell to Scarlett Nicholson 6-1, 6-3.

South Carolina then began to flip the script as three Gamecocks picked up second set wins after each dropping their firsts to trigger deciding sets. Larsson first bounced back 6-3, winning on an ace by the same score she fell to for her first set. Kaitlyn stormed back with a dominant 6-1 win while moments later Misa responded 6-3 to her opponent.

The freshmen carried South Carolina throughout the second half of the match. Buchwald secured the Gamecocks their first point of the day, winning her match in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 to cut the Yellow Jackets lead by 1. Larsson evened out the score to 2-2, completing her three-set comeback after winning the decider set 6-3.

After dropping her first set following a hard fought tiebreaker, Lancelot ultimately fell in two sets to Sharabura which allowed the Yellow Jackets to regain the lead 4-3. It was between courts 2 and 4 to see which match would be the next deciding factor. Both in their third sets, Carnicella was down 1-5 from the No. 2 position while Malkin was up 5-1 from No. 4. The clincher for Georgia Tech ultimately came from Alejandra Cruz who topped Carnicella 6-1 in the decider set.

The Gamecocks head back on the road next, facing Clemson for a Palmetto Series matchup on Feb. 11 at 4:00 p.m.

For the latest South Carolina women’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).

(22) South Carolina 2, Georgia Tech 4

Doubles (order of finish:3,1,2)

Sarah Hamner/Helena Buchwald (SC) def. #74 Given Roach/Alejandra Cruz (GT) 6-2
Kylie Bilchev/Scarlett Nicholson (GT) def. Kaitlyn Carnicella/Bella Bergkvist Larsson (SC) 7-5
Kate Sharabura/Taly Licht (GT) def. Misa Malkin/Olympe Lancelot 6-2

Singles (order of finish: 1,6,5,3,2)