Gamecocks Defeat Ole Miss 4-3 in Comeback Thriller

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 17 South Carolina Gamecocks women’s tennis defeated No. 32 Ole Miss Rebels women’s tennis 4-3 at home on Saturday afternoon. The Rebels claimed an early edge by securing the doubles point, but the Gamecocks rallied in singles play to earn the comeback victory.

No. 18 Helena Buchwald and Lauren Friedman entered their doubles match tied 1-1 against Ole Miss’ ranked No. 71 Emily Welker and Andrea Nova, then surged ahead to a 4-1 lead. They kept the momentum going and closed out the set convincingly, 6-1, to earn the first win of the match. Jane Dunyon and Kaitlyn Carnicella also started strong, jumping out to a 3-0 lead. Ole Miss responded by cutting the deficit to 3-2, eventually leveling the score at 3-3. The Rebels maintained their push and ultimately took the match 6-4.

On the deciding doubles court, Jana Stojanova and Sara Borkop built a 3-1 advantage, but Ole Miss’ Brooklyn Olson and Beatrice Stagno battled back to tie the match at 5-5. The Rebels then captured the final two games to win 7-5 and secure the doubles point.

South Carolina responded strongly in singles, with five Gamecocks taking first sets. Stojanova claimed her opening set 6-1 and earned South Carolina’s first point of the match after an Ole Miss retirement. Carnicella, facing No. 11 Welker, controlled her match from the start, winning 6-2, 6-2 to add another point and help take the lead for the Gamecocks at 2-1. Buchwald dominated her first set 6-0, then edged a tight second-set tiebreaker 7-6 to push the lead to match point, 3-1. Borkop dropped a close opening set 7-6 before falling 6-2 in the second, giving Ole Miss a point and narrowing the overall score to 3-2. Dunyon split her first two sets, 7-5 and 5-7, before Ole Miss claimed the deciding tiebreak to even the match at 3-3.

The outcome ultimately came down to Goetz on court four. After winning the first set 7-5 and dropping the second by the same score, she battled through a decisive third-set tiebreak, taking it 7-5 to clinch the match for the Gamecocks.

Up next, the Gamecocks hit the road to face Missouri on Friday, March 6 at 3:00 p.m. (ET).

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

1. No. 18 Helena Buchwald & Lauren Friedman (USC) def. No. 71 Emily Welker & Andrea Nova (Ole Miss) 6-1
2. Alice Soulie & Riley Crowder (Ole Miss) def. Jane Dunyon & Kaitlyn Carnicella (USC) 6-4 
3. Brooklyn Olson & Beatrice Stagno (Ole Miss) def. Jana Stojanova & Sara Borkop (USC) 7-5

Singles (order of finish: 6, 1, 2, 3, 5, 4)

1. No. 63 Kaitlyn Carnicella (USC) def. No. 11 Emily Welker (Ole Miss) 6-2, 6-2
2. Helena Buchwald (USC) def. Alice Soulie (Ole Miss) 6-0, 7-6(4)
3. Brooklyn Olson (Ole Miss) def. Sara Borkop (USC) 7-6(5), 6-2
4. Taylor Goetz (USC) def. Andrea Nova (Ole Miss) 7-5, 5-7, 7-5 
5. Riley Crowder (Ole Miss) def. Jane Dunyon (USC) 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (3)
6. Jana Stojanova (USC) def. Owen Wilkinson (Ole Miss) 6-1 (won by retirement)