College of Charleston
South Carolina
Cougars Drop 6-1 Road Decision at No. 26 South Carolina
2/25/2012 1:23:00 AM | Women's Tennis
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's tennis team dropped a 6-1 decision on the road to No. 26-ranked South Carolina on Friday night at the USC Field House.
It marked the Cougars' fourth nationally-ranked opponent in six matches played to start off a tough spring slate which has included the likes of No. 14 Clemson, No. 3 Duke and No. 67 Winthrop.
They moved to 3-3 on the season, while the Gamecocks improved to 6-1. The dual match was moved indoors, due to inclement weather.
CofC's lone point of the match came courtesy of senior Katie Lee (Brisbane, Australia), who returned to the lineup after recovering from a back injury during the fall. Lee defeated USC's Dina Guzairova in a third-set super tiebreaker, 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 (5), at No. 6 singles.
"It was nice to have Katie (Lee) back in the lineup," CofC Director of Tennis Angelo Anastopoulo said. "She has been working hard to get back from a back injury she sustained in the middle part of the fall. She is not quite at 100 percent yet, but she did a terrific job. She really showed her senior leadership today by coming through in a close match."
Aside from Lee, reigning Southern Conference Player of the Week Samantha Maddox (Lexington, Ky.) was the only other CofC player to win a set against the Gamecocks in singles at the No. 4 line. Maddox won the first set, 6-4, while USC's Katerina Popova claimed the second set after tying it up at 5-all and gaining a service break, to force the third-set super tiebreaker with the match already decided.
"We had a chance and it was a close match," Anastopoulo said. "We have to get better in close situations against these top-ranked teams. It was a tough road trip for us with the weather and the team had to adapt to a shorter warm-up and learning to be flexible. Overall, I was proud of our team and how they dealt with the adversity today."
The Cougars will return home for workouts this week prior to spring break and their next road stop at Jacksonville State on Saturday, March 3 at 10 a.m. (ET) in Jacksonville, Ala.
(26) SOUTH CAROLINA 6, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 1
Feb. 24, 2012
USC Field House
at Columbia, S.C.
SINGLES
No. 1 - (29) Anya Morgina (USC) def. Christin Newman (CofC), 6-2, 6-2.
No. 2 - (59) Jaklin Alawi (USC) def. Kelly Kambourelis (CofC), 6-1, 6-2.
No. 3 - Dominika Kanakova (USC) def. Caroline Newman (CofC), 7-5, 6-1.
No. 4 - Katerina Popova (USC) def. Samantha Maddox (CofC), 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (7).
No. 5 - Josefin Andersson (USC) def. Jenny Falcone (CofC), 6-2, 7-6 (3).
No. 6 - Katie Lee (CofC) def. Dina Guzairova (USC), 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 (5).
DOUBLES
No. 1 - Jaklin Alawi-Anya Morgina (USC) def. Jamie Harrell-Irene Viana (CofC), 8-2.
No. 2 - Josefin Andersson-Dominika Kanakova (USC) def. Kelly Kambourelis-Jenny Falcone (CofC), 8-6.
No. 3 - Adriana Pereira-Katerina Popova (USC) def. Samantha Maddox-Christin Newman (CofC), 8-6.
ORDER OF FINISH
Doubles: 1, 2, 3
Singles: 2, 1, 3*, 4, 5, 6
Players Mentioned
