The Daily Gamecock

Women's tennis clinches a record breaking season after defeating Alabama

The perfect road season has been secured for South Carolina women's tennis team as it won its last regular season road game against Alabama on Saturday.

The Gamecocks came out on top with a 4-1 over Alabama, allowing them to be the first perfect SEC regular season road record in school history. Not only did the Gamecocks maintain their record of 6-0, they also won the doubles point for the seventh time in eight SEC matches.

The Gamecocks were able to piece together every vital advantage to defeat Alabama on their court, even though associate head coach Jeff Nevolo expressed the competitive atmosphere they had to play through that Alabama brought to the match.

"Never an easy match in this league. Credit to Alabama," Nevolo said. "They competed incredibly well as they always do. A few of our girls pulled out gutsy performances on a day with some environmental challenges. They were able to access their games when they needed it most."

Hadley Berg and Mia Horvit both had standout performances, winning their marches in straight sets. It wasn't all easy for the Gamecocks, however, as Rachel Rohrabacher lost her first singles set. Rohrabacher fought back and dominated her opponent, allowing her to advance to 10-0 for the season.

Not only did Berg help lead her team in doubles, she controlled the pace of her singles match against Alabama's Smith Hinton. Berg had a slow start at first but was able to come back and win four straight matches that carried over into the second set where she gained 6-2, 6-3 wins. 

The win itself is not the only thing for South Carolina to celebrate. Head coach Kevin Epley made history by taking his program to an SEC record of 8-0 for the first time and also earned his 100th win at South Carolina. This is the best SEC start for the Gamecocks in program history, but Nevolo is ready to look ahead to the remainder of the season. 

"We're excited to get home and play in front of our great fans at the Carolina Tennis Center," Nevolo said. "The team has accomplished a lot thus far, but we still have plenty to work on and a number of tough matches ahead. Proud of the way we competed down the stretch today and excited for the new challenges ahead." 

The Gamecock's winning streak will be tested this Thursday when they face Missouri at the Carolina Tennis Center for a five-match SEC home stand to round out the regular season. 


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