Men's squad falls to N.C. State
The USC women's tennis team rose to the challenge of playing two ranked teams this weekend, dominating No. 53 Purdue 6-1 on Saturday before beating No. 28 Illinois 5-2 on Sunday.
The Gamecocks swept all three doubles matches against Purdue for their first point of the day. Dijana Stojic and Dominika Kanakova overcame the No. 13 pair in the nation, while Anya Morgina and Katerina Popova defeated the No. 68 pair. Josie Andersson, who is gradually recovering from injury, teamed with Madeleine Saari-Bystrom for the win in second doubles.
USC continued its success by winning five of six singles contests. Anya Morgina and Dijana Stojic, ranked No. 37 and No. 93 in the nation, respectively, won two-set matches at first and second singles. Andersson was the only player whose match went to three sets, but she pulled out the victory in sixth singles.
Carolina had to battle back from an early deficit against Illinois after losing the doubles point. Saari-Bystrom and Andersson won their match, but Stojic and Kanakova fell to the No. 15 pair in the nation, while Morgina and Popova lost to the Illini's Leigh Finnigan and Amy Allin.
Kanakova evened the score with a quick 6-4, 6-1 victory over Allison Falkin at fifth singles. After Miljana Jocic dropped her match to Finnegan, Morgina tied the score again with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over Rachel White. Popova, the No. 117 player in the country, gave the Gamecocks the lead by taking her match at fourth singles.
Stojic clinched the win for USC when she rallied after losing her first set to win the next two, overcoming Illinois' Breanne Smutko 2-6, 7-5, 6-2. Saari-Bystrom also made a comeback after losing her first set, giving Carolina its final point of the day with a 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 win.
Carolina will enjoy a 10-day break before its next match, a home contest against Winthrop next Wednesday.
On the men's side, the Gamecocks took a tough 7-0 loss to No. 58 N.C. State on Sunday. Johannes Pulsfort and Chris Sheehan won their contest at third doubles, but Chip Cox and Ivan Machado dropped a close 9-7 match, while Nick Jones and Alexander Kostanov took an 8-3 loss.
In singles, USC reshuffled its lineup, keeping Machado in his usual spot at No. 1 but inserting Jones at No. 2. Kostanov, Cox, Pulsfort and Jake Bowling rounded out the Gamecock squad.
None of the singles matches went more than two sets, however. Machado's contest was the closest of the day, but he took a 7-5, 7-5 loss to Jaime Pulgar, the No. 61 player in the nation.
The men's team will play the first of three consecutive home matches this weekend, facing off against USC Upstate on Sunday.