Mississippi State
South Carolina (conclusion)
No. 22 MSU Drops Tough 4-3 Match To No. 9 USC; Hosts #13 Gators Sunday
March 19, 2016 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After play was suspended on Friday due to rain, the 22nd-ranked Mississippi State women's tennis team (11-4, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) could not hold off No. 9 South Carolina (13-2, 5-0 SEC) in a heartbreaking 4-3 loss Saturday during the conclusion of that contest.
On Friday the Bulldogs were able to clinch the doubles point before play was suspended due to rain and lightning. State posted wins at the top two doubles positions for its early lead in the match. After Gamecocks Ingrid Martins and Ximena Siles Luna downed State's 70th-ranked Jennifer Brown and Kristina Vozniak 6-2 at the No. 3 spot, State's 43rd-ranked duo of Jasmine Lee and Louise Ronaldson evened things with a 6-3 win over South Carolina's Caroline Dailey and Brigit Folland at No. 2. Clinching doubles for State were 34th-ranked Bulldogs Madison Harrison and Georgiana Patrasc, holding off USC's 54th-ranked team of Hadley Berg and Paige Cline 6-4 at the top spot.
In singles, the Gamecocks would respond by claiming four of the first six sets on Saturday after played resumed just a couple of games into singles.
USC evened the team score at 1-1 by posting a win in the first match complete. No. 110 Cline ousted State's Harrison 6-0, 6-3 on court three. The Bulldogs then reclaimed the lead, as ninth-ranked Jasmine Lee defeated her 13th ranked opponent of the year in the Gamecocks' No. 109 Dailey, 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 1 position. South Carolina would even things up again with a three-set win on court five, where Folland overcame MSU's Vozniak 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
That left courts 2,4 and 6 on the court to decide the match, with each team needing two wins for the victory. South Carolina's Siles Luna provided the Gamecocks with their first lead of the day, holding off MSU's Brown 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 at No. 6. State's lone senior, No. 86 Patrasc, fought off South Carolina's Martins on court 2, winning 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 to even the score at 3-3.
All eyes turned to the No. 4 position as two underclassmen battled it out to see which team would win the match. South Carolina sophomore Berg took the first set in a close 7-6(3) tiebreaker, but State's 51st-ranked true freshman Anastasia Rentouli responded by taking the second set 6-4. Rentouli jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the deciding set but could not fend off Berg who claimed a 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3 win to clinch the match for the Gamecocks.
“It was a great battle and heartbreaking loss,” head coach Daryl Greenan said. “The girls poured their heart and soul into it as they do every match. It is hard to take such a close loss like that. I am proud of them for their fight. They are developing a reputation of not only being a good team, but being a team that battles and doesn't ever go away. If we keep that up, we are going to be fine and we will get the wins.”
No. 22 MSU continues SEC play with yet another highly-ranked contest Sunday, hosting No. 13 Florida (10-2, 5-0 SEC) at 11 a.m. CT at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
UF has six players ranked in singles, including No. 5 Belinda Woolcock. No. 15 Brooke Austin, No. 37 Kourtney Keegan, No. 81 Anna Danilina, No. 108 Josie Kuhlman and No. 121 Brianna Morgan. Austin and Keegan form the nation's seventh-ranked doubles duo, Kuhlman and Woodcock are No. 22 as a tandem, Spencer Liang and Paggy Porter come in at No. 42, and the pair of Danilina and Morgan are No. 58 in the country.
For more information on Mississippi State women's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateWT.
No. 9 South Carolina 4, No. 22 Mississippi State 3
March 19, 2016 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
Order of match finish…3,2,1
1. #34 Madison Harrison/Georgiana Patrasc (MSU) def. #54 Hadley Berg/Paige Cline (USC) 6-4
2. #43 Jasmine Lee/Louise Ronaldson (MSU) def. Caroline Dailey/Brigit Folland (USC) 6-3
3. Ingrid Martins/Ximena Siles Luna (USC) def. #70 Jennifer Brown/Kristina Vozniak (MSU) 6-2
Singles
Order of match finish…3,1,5,6,2,4
1. #9 Jasmine Lee (MSU) def. #109 Caroline Dailey (USC) 6-3, 6-1
2. #86 Georgiana Patrasc (MSU) def. Ingrid Martins (USC) 7-5, 5-7, 6-3
3. #110 Paige Cline (USC) def. Madison Harrison (MSU) 6-0, 6-3
4. Hadley Berg (USC) def. #51 Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3
5. Brigit Folland (USC) def. Kristina Vozniak (MSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
6. Ximena Siles Luna (USC) def. Jennifer Brown (MSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
