CARY, N.C. – South Carolina women’s tennis senior Sarah Hamner advanced to the ITA All-American Championships singles round of 16 for the second time in as many seasons and third time in her career. Her three-set win on Thursday keeps her in the running to repeat her 2021 title at the event.
Facing No. 42 Bianca Fernandez of UCLA, No. 10 Hamner posted her second three-set win in as many matches. The Gamecock senior won the opening set 7-5 but dropped the second by the same score. The back-and-forth match continued to be a battle in the third with Hamner picking up the break and the 6-4 to return to advance to the round of 16, where she will face No. 69 Valeria Glozman from Stanford.
In doubles, Hamner and junior transfer Kaitlyn Carnicella had another tough match, facing No. 17 Reece Carter and Alexia Jacobs of Washington. The nation’s No. 10 duo got out quickly with a 6-1 first-set win, but Carter and Jacobs, who had upset the No. 1 seed the day before, pushed back with a 6-3 second-set win, sending the game to a super tiebreak to decide who would reach the quarterfinals. Hamner and Carnicella came up just short in a 10-8 decision.
Complete draws, schedules and results for the ITA All-American Championships will be posted on the ITA Tournament Page. Cracked Racquets will stream Main Draw matches on the ITA YouTube channel, and matches will also stream on PlaySight.
Under the new format for NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, players and doubles teams in the ITA All-American Championships can qualify right into the NCAA Championships bracket. From singles, eight main draw quarterfinalists and two feed-in consolation finalists will punch their ticket directly into the NCAA Singles Championships. The four main draw doubles semifinalists will join them in the NCAA Doubles Championships.
Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWTennis) for the most up-to-date information on the women’s tennis season.
South Carolina Results – Main Draw
Singles Round of 32
(10) Sarah Hamner (SC) def. (42) Bianca Fernandez (UCLA) 7-5, 5-7, 6-4
Doubles Round of 16
(17) Reece Carter/Alexia Jacobs (WASH) def. (27) Sarah Hamner/Kaitlyn Carnicella (SC) 1-6, 6-3, 10-8