CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Kaitlyn Carnicella and Sarah Hamner both won their quarterfinal singles matches on day three of the ITA Sectional Championship which automatically qualifies the Gamecocks for the NCAA Individual Championships in Waco, Texas later this month.
Sarah Hamner faced Duke’s Emma Jackson in a top-five seed matchup, topping the Blue Devil in two sets to punch her fourth consecutive ticket to NCAAs. Hamner, who is seeded second in this tournament, dominated the first set against fifth seed Jackson. The senior took an early lead and went on a four-point streak, holding Jackson to a 5-1 score. The Blue Devil attempted to shrink the gap, advancing to 2-5 before Hamner ultimately claimed the last point in the set to win 6-2. The Gamecock scored the first two points of the second set before Jackson responded with the next two points to even out the set to 2-2. The two went back and forth for the next couple points before Hamner managed to pull away and ultimately claim the match victory after winning the second set 6-3.
Kaitlyn Carnicella started off even in her match against Maryland’s Kallista Liu as the two went back and forth for the first half of set one. Carnicella managed to extend her lead to 5-3 and keep Liu from scoring to win the set 6-3. The junior started off strong for the second set, leading 4-1 against Liu before the Terp rallied back to tie the set up 4-4. The two battled to a 6-6 score, sending the match to a tiebreaker set where Carnicella ultimately topped Liu 9-7.
Tomorrow Hamner faces third-seeded Annabelle Xu of UVA while Carnicella takes on the top seeded player in this tournament Carson Tanguilig of UNC. Both Gamecocks play their matches at 10:00 a.m.
Main Draw Stage – Quarterfinals
Sarah Hamner (SC) def. Emma Jackson (DUKE) 6-2, 6-3
Kaitlyn Carnicella (SC) def. Kallista Liu (UMD) 6-3, 7(9) – 6(7)