WTEN: No. 21 Tigers Fall at South Carolina, 4-3

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 21 Clemson women’s tennis (6-2) fell to South Carolina (5-1) by a score of 4-3 in Columbia on Tuesday evening.

For the seventh time this season, the Tigers opened the match by claiming the doubles point. The teams split the first two matches, with the pair of Talia Neilson-Gatenby and Artemis Aslanisvili taking care of Jana Stojanova/Taylor Goetz 6-2. On court one, No. 37 Helena Buchwald/Lauren Freeman defeated the Tigers No. 23 Jade Groen and Rinon Okuwaki, 6-2. 

In the deciding match, the pairs of Gaia Parravicini and Romana Cisovska, and Kaitlyn Carnicella and Jane Dunyon battled to a tiebreaker after neither team could break the other’s serve. The pair of Tigers won the first three points of the tiebreaker and would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way, overpowering the Gamecocks 7-3 in the final game.

In singles action, South Carolina struck first. Cisovska won her first set 6-0, but Buchwald fought back for a three-set victory. Okuwaki struck back with a three set victory of her own to give the Tigers a 2-1 advantage. South Carolina evened the score after Carnicella, ranked the No. 80 singles player in the country, defeated Groen in three sets. The Gamecocks took their first lead of the match in the form of Dunyon defeating Neilson-Gatenby, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5. Needing a win to keep the match alive, Aslanisvili delivered with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Stojanova. Bhaktia and Goetz engaged in a battle through the first two sets, splitting them 6-7, 7-5. In the final set, Goetz outlasted Bhaktia 6-1 to give the Gamecocks the point in the Palmetto Series presented by the South Carolina Education Lottery.

UP NEXT: Clemson is back at Duckworth for a full weekend slate with matches against Memphis and College of Charleston on Saturday, Feb. 14 as well as matches with UNC-Greensboro and Queens on Sunday, Feb. 15. Saturday’s match against Memphis is scheduled for 10 a.m. with College of Charleston following at 2:30 p.m. Sunday’s festivities will begin at 10:30 a.m. against UNC-Greensboro with Queens following at 3 p.m.

BOX SCORE:

Doubles (3,1,2*)

1. #37 Buchwald/Friedman (SC) def. #23 Groen/Okuwaki (CU), 6-2.
2. Parravicini/Cisovska (CU) def. Carnicella/Dunyon (SC), 7-63.
3. Neilson-Gatenby/Aslanisvili (CU) def. Stojanova/Goetz (SC), 6-2.

Singles (2,3,1,5,6,4*)

1. #80 Kaitlyn Carnicella (SC) def. Jade Groen (CU), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
2. Helena Buchwald (SC) def. Romana Cisovska (CU), 0-6, 6-4, 6-2.
3. Rinon Okuwaki (CU) def. Sara Borkorp (SC) 6-2, 1-6, 6-1.
4. Taylor Goetz (SC) def. #121 Ria Bhakta (CU), 7-6, 5-7, 1-6.
5. Jane Dunyon (SC) def. Talia Neilson-Gatenby (CU), 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.
6. Artemis Aslanisvili (CU) def. Jana Stojanova (SC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2