Women's Tennis . April 15, 2026

Gamecocks Fall to Arkansas in First Round of SEC Tournament

NORMAN, Okla. – The South Carolina women’s tennis team fell to Arkansas on Wednesday in the first round of the 2026 SEC Championship in Norman, Okla.

The Gamecocks came out strong in doubles play, taking two of three courts to secure the early 1-0 advantage. Kaitlyn Carnicella and Jana Stojanova set the tone from the No. 2 position with a decisive 6-3 win. After Jane Dunyon and Sara Borkop dropped their match on court three, the No. 13-ranked duo of Helena Buchwald and Lauren Friedman delivered in the top spot, clinching the doubles point with a 6-4 victory.

Carrying that momentum into singles, Buchwald extended Carolina’s lead with a straight-set win on court two, 6-4, 6-4, marking the first singles point of the day for the Gamecocks. Stojanova followed with an impressive performance, grinding through a tight opening set that she claimed in a tiebreak, 7-6 (8-6), before closing out her match with a 6-3 second-set win to put South Carolina ahead.

Arkansas responded by evening the match. Dunyon showed resilience after dropping her first set 6-3, bouncing back to take the second and force a third set. Despite the comeback effort, her opponent edged out the final frame, bringing the overall score to 3-3.

With the match on the line, all eyes turned to Sara Borkop on court three. After falling in the opening set, Borkop fought back to claim the second and force a deciding third. She erased an early 2-0 deficit to level the set at 2-2, but Arkansas regained control late, pulling away to secure the clinching point and the 4-3 victory.

No. 27 South Carolina 3, No. 54 Arkansas 4

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

No. 13 Lauren Friedman/Helena Buchwald (SC) def. Carolina Gomez Alonso/Anet Koskel (Ark) 6-4
Kaitlyn Carnicella/Jana Stojanova (SC) def. Brooke Schafer/Arina Babenko (Ark) 6-3
Jimena Gomez Alonso/Alexandra Panagiotidou (Ark) def. Jane Dunyon/Sara Borkop (SC) 6-2

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