No. 25 South Carolina Finishes Regular Season with Win Over Alabama

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 25 South Carolina women’s tennis team closed out the regular season with a 4-2 win over No. 50 Alabama at the Carolina Outdoor Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon. The Gamecocks also honored senior Lauren Friedman before the match. 

South Carolina and Alabama were evenly matched to start doubles play, with each court trading sets and reaching 4-4. The Crimson Tide broke through first, taking a 6-4 win from the top of the lineup when Kristina Paskauskas and Addison Bowman defeated Friedman and Helena Buchwald. The Gamecocks leveled the field on court two with a 7-5 win from Kaitlyn Carnicella and Jana Stojanova against Klara Milicevic and Karla Bartel. The pair came back from a 3-1 deficit to keep South Carolina in the mix for the doubles point. Jane Dunyon and Sara Borkop clinched the point from the third position, taking down Maria Andrienko and Amina Salibayeva 7-4 in a tie break and winning the match 7-6. 

The Gamecocks carried that momentum into singles play, with Carnicella (6-2), Buchwald (7-5) and Borkop (6-1) each taking their first sets across the top of the lineup. No. 41 Buchwald closed out her match first, defeating No. 79 Klara Milicevic 6-0 in her second set to extend the South Carolina lead. Borkop earned her win on court three with a 6-0 second-set sweep as well, putting the Gamecocks one point away from clinching the win. The Crimson Tide closed the gap to 3-2 with Bowman’s 6-1,6-3 win over Dunyon on court five, and Amina Salibayeva’s 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 win against Friedman. 

Meanwhile, Carnicella dropped her second set, forcing a third on court one, and Stojanova won her second set 6-4 to force a third on court four. Carnicella won straight points from 4-4 to win the set 6-4, clinching the 4-2 South Carolina win. Stojanova’s match was left unfinished, but she led her final set 4-2. 

No. 25 South Carolina  4, No. 50 Alabama 2

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

1. Kristina Paskauskas/Addison Bowman (UA) def. No. 17 Lauren Friedman/Helena Buchwald (USC)  6-4 
2. Kaitlyn Carnicella/Jana Stojanova (USC) def. Klara Milicevic/Karla Bartel (UA) 7-5 
3. Jane Dunyon/Sara Borkop (USC) def. Maria Andrienko/Amina Salibayeva (UA) 7-6 (7-4)

SINGLES (order of finish: 2,3,5,6,1) 

1. No. 38 Kaitlyn Carnicella (USC) def. No. 71 Kristina Paskauskas (UA) 6-2, 0-6, 6-4
2. No. 41 Helena Buchwald (USC) def. No. 79 Klara Milicevic (UA) 7-5, 6-0
3. Sara Borkop (USC) def. Maria Andrienko (UA) 6-1, 6-0
4. Jana Stojanova (USC) led Karla Bartel (UA) 2-6, 6-4, 4-2 unfinished 
5. Addison Bowman (UA) def. Jane Dunyon (USC) 6-1, 6-3
6. Amina Salibayeva (UA) def. Lauren Friedman (USC) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3