South Carolina Gamecocks

Feb. 12, 2011

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 26th-ranked Gamecock women's tennis scored a 6-1 win over No. 53 Purdue on Saturday at the Schwartz Tennis Center. South Carolina improves to 4-1, while the Boilermakers dropped their first match of the season to fall to 4-1.

South Carolina began the day with a strong performance in doubles action, sweeping all three positions for a 1-0 lead heading to singles. Anya Morgina and Katerina Popova defeated Bhavani Tirumurti and Imogen Golder on court three 8-1 for the Gamecocks' first win. At the top position, Dijana Stojic and Dominika Kanakova defeated the nations 13th-ranked tandem of Jennifer Rabot and Mara Schmidt 8-4 to clinch the point.

With the doubles point already clinched, South Carolina's Madeleine Saari-Byström and Josefin Andersson held on for an 8-6 triumph over Gisella Pere and Anna Dushkina.

In singles action, the Gamecocks continued to dominate, winning five of the six singles matches. Stojic defeated Schmidt, 6-3, 6-0 on court two. On court five, Kanakova cruised past Golder, 6-4, 7-5. Purdue picked up an early win during singles play, as Tirumurti picked up a 6-2, 6-0 win over Saari-Byström on court three, as the Boilermakers cut the deficit to 3-1.

The Gamecocks clinched the match on court four just a few minutes later, however, as 117th-ranked Popova defeated Dushkina, 6-3, 6-4. Morgina followed Popova with a thrilling 7-6, 7-5, win on court one over Purdue's Rabot, to give the Gamecocks a 5-1 lead.

On court six, Andersson closed out the match, defeating Pere in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6.

The Gamecocks continue the road trip when travel to Urbanna, Ill. to compete against No. 29 Illinois on Sunday.

#26 South Carolina (4-1) def. #53 Purdue (4-1), 6-1

Singles
1. #37 Anya Morgina, USC, def. Jennifer Rabot, Purdue, 7-6, 7-5
2. #93 Dijana Stojic, USC, def. Mara Schmidt, Purdue, 6-3, 6-0
3. Bhavani Tirumurti, Purdue, def. Madeleine Saari-Byström, USC, 6-2, 6-0
4. #117 Katerina Popova, USC, def. Anna Dushkina, Purdue, 6-3, 6-4
5. Dominika Kanakova, USC, def. Imogen Golder, Purdue, 6-4, 7-5
6. Josefin Andersson, USC, def. Gisella Pere, Purdue, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6

Order of Finish: 2, 3, 5, 4, 1, 6

Doubles
1. Stojic/Kanakova, USC, def. #13 Jennifer Rabot/Schmidt, Purdue, 8-4
2. Saari-Byström/Andersson, USC, def. Gisella Pere/Dushkina, Purdue, 8-6
3. Morgina/Popova, USC, def. #68 Tirumurti/Golder, Purdue, 8-1

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2