Women traveling to Charleston, men to play Mississippi State at home
The No. 33 South Carolina women’s tennis team will travel to College of Charleston this weekend after winning its third consecutive match in an upset of No. 30 Virginia Commonwealth. The Gamecocks swept College of Charleston 7-0 when the two teams competed last spring.
After VCU claimed the doubles point in Wednesday’s match, sophomore Madeleine Saari-Bystrom gave USC its first point of the day with a quick 6-1, 6-2 win over the Rams’ Ana Bara. Junior Anya Morgina and freshman Dominika Kanakova also defeated their opponents in two sets, while junior Dijana Stojic provided the decisive fourth point.
Saari-Bystrom and Kanakova’s victories were important turnarounds for both players, each having lost the previous two matches when Carolina faced Auburn and Alabama.
“I think not only Madeleine but also Dominika Kanakova; both played really good matches for us today,” coach Arlo Elkins said in a release. “Maddie really worked her tail off today, ran every ball down, made some shots that were probably out of her reach, and she just worked hard and got to them and got that ball back in the court.”
The men’s tennis team, on the other hand, will host its second of three straight home matches on Saturday, taking on Mississippi State before rival Clemson comes to Columbia next week. Last year’s match against MSU resulted in the Gamecocks’ lone conference victory of the year.
Junior Ivan Machado and senior Johannes Pulsfort, two important contributors to this year’s team, won their matches in No. 5 and No. 6 singles, respectively, in 2010. This year, Machado has played fairly regularly at the No. 1 spot, even though the team hasn’t found a consistent lineup.
“Unfortunately due to records and the SEC rules, we’re forced to move guys depending on how they do,” coach Josh Goffi said. “So if our guys are winning, we keep them exactly where they are. A few of the guys are doing well, and some of the other guys are struggling a little bit here and there, and we’re forced to move them.
“We have a good lineup. Any lineup we put out there right now is a great lineup for us. We have four guys that are all about equal, and we have two or three guys that are in a different section as well. No matter where they are in the lineup, they’re going to do well.”
Despite losing their third consecutive match on Thursday, the Gamecocks have continued to put up a good fight against several nationally ranked opponents in recent weeks.
“It starts with competing 100 percent, every match, every practice, and buying into it,” Goffi said. “It’s taken a little while, but we’re finally making steps in the right direction. That’s all I care about. And we’re competing well. And they see that they’ve gotten a lot better. I think it’s exciting for them.”