Gamecocks Prevail Over Tennessee In SEC Home Opener
March 17, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The No. 21 Gamecocks defeated No. 19 Tennessee in a tough 4-3 battle in which three-set battles proved to be key. The Vols got on the board first taking the doubles point, but South Carolina fired back in singles play taking the first three matches. The Vols made it even, posting three singles points of their own, leaving it to junior Hadley Berg to decide the match. Berg battled back from a 4-1 deficit in the third set to take a 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 victory and clinch the match for the Gamecocks. With the win the Gamecocks improved to 10-4 overall and 2-2 in league play.
The Vols struck first, claiming the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. Tennessee’s No. 2 duo put up their point first, defeating Mia Horvit and Caroline Dailey 6-3. Ariadna Riley and Johanna Silva weren’t far behind, posting a 6-3 win in the No. 3 spot to give the Vols a 1-0 lead heading into singles.
The Gamecocks came out firing on all cylinders in singles, taking the first three singles matches to give them a 3-1 lead. Martins (35) was the first to contribute, evening the score, with a straight-set 6-3, 6-1 win over Hammond on court two. The win was her first since she retired mid-match against Feb. 5 against Virginia’s Cassie Mercer.
Cline gave the Gamecocks the lead, taking a 6-2, 6-3 win over Eve Repic in the No. 3 spot. The win evens her dual-play record to 4-4 and improves her SEC record to 2-1. Folland was the final Gamecock to submit her point in straight sets, defeating Schuck 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 6 spot, notching her 9th singles victory in dual-play, the second highest on the team.
The remaining matches went to three-sets, leaving courts one, four and five to battle it out for the victory. Silvia Chinellato dominated in her first set, posting 6-1 score, but Riley found her rhythm to take the remaining two sets 6-4, 6-2 to bring the score within one. Lindl (51) tied it up for the Vols in the No. 1 spot, taking Horvit (58) 1-6, 6-4, 4-6 leaving the match point to Berg on court six.
Berg rallied from a 1-4 deficit to stay perfect this season, increasing her dual-play record to 11-0, with her three-set victory on court five to give the Gamecocks the win to make a 4-3 final score.
Quotable
Head Coach Kevin Epley
“We’ve talked all week about being resilient and I think Hadley is the story of the night. Being down 4-1 in the deciding match, not really playing that well but deciding she was going to win that match despite being injured. She played some of the best tennis she’s played all year so she really stepped up for the team. I really think it’s something we can build on for the rest of the year. I think this is going to be a pivotal point for the rest of the season for us. Some of the other girls fought really hard, we’re still struggling with the doubles but we’ll get that fixed by Sunday. Overall a good effort and a good battle from our team.”
Results
1. #51 Brittany Lindl (TN) d. #58 Mia Horvit (SC) (6-1, 4-6, 6-4)
2. #35 Ingrid Gamarra Martins d. Sadie Hammond (TN) 6-3, 6-1
3. Paige Cline (SC) d. Eve Repic (TN) 6-2, 6-3
4. Ariadna Riley (TN) d. Silvia Chinellato (SC) 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. Hadley Berg (SC) d. Johanna Silva (TN) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
6. Brigit Folland (SC) d. Gabby Schuck (TN) 6-2, 6-2
DOUBLES (2, 3)
1. #27 Paige Cline/Hadley Berg (SC) vs. #74 Brittany Lindl/Eve Repic (TN) UNF
2. Sadie Hammond/Gabby Schuck (TN) def. Mia Horvit/Caroline Dailey (SC) 6-3
3. Ariadna Riley/Johanna Silva (TN) def. Rachel Rohrabacher/Brigit Folland (SC) 6-3
Up Next
The Gamecocks return to action Sunday, March 19 to host No. 6 Georgia at the Carolina Tennis Center at 1 p.m. and Coastal Carolina at 5 p.m. Admission and parking to all home tennis matches is free of charge.
