Nashville, Tenn. – No. 17 South Carolina women’s tennis defeated No. 27 Vanderbilt 4-3 in Nashville on Sunday afternoon. The Gamecocks claimed the doubles point and three singles matches, winning the final match in a third set tiebreaker for the victory.
In doubles, the Gamecocks tallied the first victory of the day with No. 23 Sarah Hamner and Ayana Akli defeating No. 25 Anessa Lee and Celia-Belle Mohr in a strong 6-2 showing.
The Commodores evened the decision with a win at the No. 2 position where Shahar Biran and Elise Mills fell 4-6 to the nation’s No. 69-ranked pair.
The decision fell to the No. 3 court where Misa Malkin and Olympe Lancelot were able to able to clinch the point with a 6-4 victory.
In singles play, the Commodores responded by claiming a point from Court 5 with Malkin falling but Lancelot got the lead back for the Gamecocks with her win on Court 6.
Vanderbilt again evened thing up with a victory on Court 4, but South Carolina again took a lead thanks to No. 12 Hamner’s three set victory at the No. 2 position.
The Commodores again evened things for the third time of the day with No. 17 Mohr defeating No. 6 Akli 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 from the top of the lineup.
The final match on was Court 3 where Biran was battling Lee. The Commodore claimed the first set 6-2 but the Gamecock battled through a lengthy tiebreaker to take the second 7-6(9). The final set was even throughout, forcing another tiebreaker to decide the match. In the breaker, Biran was unstoppable, winning it 7-0 to clinch the victory for South Carolina.
The women’s tennis team will continue action on the road, heading to Gainesville to face Florida on Saturday, April 13 at 11:00 a.m.
For all the latest South Carolina women’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).
#17 South Carolina 4, #27 Vanderbilt 3
Doubles (order of finish: 1, 2, 3)
- ##23 Ayana Akli/Sarah Hamner (SC) def. #25 Anessa Lee/Celia-Belle Mohr (VU) 6-2
- #69 Valeria Ray/Holly Staff (VU) def. Shahar Biran/Elise Mills (SC) 6-4
- Olympe Lancelot/Misa Malkin (SC) def. Sonya Macavei/Amy Stevens (VU) 6-4
Singles (order of finish: 5, 6, 4, 2, 1, 3)
- #17 Celia-Belle Mohr (VU) def. #6 Ayana Akli (SC) 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
- #12 Sarah Hamner (SC) def. Valeria Ray (VU) 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
- Shahar Biran (SC) def. Anessa Lee (VU) 2-6, 7-6(9), 7-6(0)
- Holly Staff (VU) def. Elise Mills (SC) 6-4, 7-5
- Amy Stevens (VU) def. Misa Malkin (SC) 6-2, 6-3
- Olympe Lancelot (SC)…