The Gamecocks women’s tennis team took action this past weekend in the USTA/ITA Carolina Regional tournament. The event started Thursday and went through the weekend in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The team fared well as a whole, with two doubles teams and one singles player advancing all the way to the semifinals despite the high level of competition.
The doubles team, made up of junior Brigit Folland and sophomore Hadley Berg, cruised to the semifinals by beating the 53rd-best doubles team in the nation 8-2 on Saturday. Also on Saturday, freshman Ellie Zogg and freshman Ingrid Gamarra Martins advanced through to the semifinals by beating a doubles team from Duke 8-6.
Sunday did not go as planned for the Gamecocks in the doubles bracket. There was a chance of an all-Gamecock final round, but both teams dropped their matches before they could get there. Martins and Zogg went down 8-6 and Folland and Berg lost 8-5.
On the singles side, it was freshman Paige Cline who stole the show. Coming in with just a 2-2 record on the year, Cline won her first four matches and advanced all the way to the semifinals on Sunday where she faced off against Joana Eidukonyte of Clemson. Eidukonyte proved too much for Cline and prevailed 6-3, 7-5.Martins and Folland both advanced to play on Saturday in the singles bracket as well. Martins advanced to the quarterfinal before losing to Cline via friendly fire between the two Gamecocks, and Folland bowed out in the round of 16.
The team will play next on November 6th, back in Chapel Hill for the Kitty Harrison Invitational. It will be their last tournament of the year before picking back up with play in January.