Athens, Ga. – No. 27 South Carolina women’s tennis fell 1-4 at No. 5 Georgia on Thursday. The Gamecocks put up a valiant effort in doubles but ultimately dropped the point and were only able to get one singles win recorded before Georgia clinched the match.
Doubles were a close battle with the Bulldogs striking first. The nation’s No. 50 pair of Mell Reasco and Meg Kowalski earned the first win of the day with a 6-2 victory at the No. 2 position. The Gamecocks were quick to even the decision with No. 48 Ayana Akli and Sarah Hamner earning a win of their own in a 7-6(4) tiebreak from the top spot in the lineup.
The decision came down to the No. 3 doubles matchup where Ana Cruz and Allie Gretkowski were taking on No. 40 Guillermina Grant and Mai Nirundorn. The Georgia pair got off to a hot start with a 2-0 lead, but the Gamecocks responded with authority, taking the next five games to lead 5-2. The Gamecocks just couldn’t seem to close the match out and the Bulldogs came back to win the next four games to retake the lead 6-5. Cruz and Gretkowski finally managed to take another game to tie it at six all and send the match to a tiebreak.
In the tiebreak, Georgia again jumped out to a 2-0 start, but the Gamecocks tied things up at two all. Georgia claimed the next four points and only allowed South Carolina’s pair one more point before taking the win 7-6(3) to clinch the doubles point.
Play moved to singles where the Bulldogs quickly increased their lead. No. 9 Dasha Vidmanova defeated No. 19 Hamner 6-1, 6-2 to claim the first singles point of the day.
The next point came from neighboring Court 3 where Gracie Mulville was able to put the Gamecocks on the board. The sophomore defeated No. 56 Reasco in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4 for the highest ranked win of her career. Her previous high was a win over No. 60 Bridget Stammel of Vanderbilt that came in three sets.
Court 6 was the next to clear with Grant defeating freshman Alice Otis 6-2, 7-5 and Georgia clinched the match shortly afterwards with No. 125 Kowalski defeating senior Elise Mills 7-6(4), 6-2.
Sophomore Misa Malkin was leading No. 72 Anastasiia Lopata 6-3, 5-6 and No. 8 Ayana Akli has split sets with No. 3 Lea Ma 6-3, 4-6 when play was suspended.
The women’s tennis team will continue SEC play on the road with a trip to Knoxville to take on No. 15 Tennessee on Sunday. The match will begin at noon.
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