AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's tennis team pushed South Carolina to the brink, but came up short in a 4-2 loss Friday afternoon at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
The 48th-ranked Tigers (7-4, 0-1 SEC) claimed the doubles point and pushed four singles matches to deciding sets, but the 30th-ranked Gamecocks (5-4, 1-0) were able to outlast Auburn in a match that took 3 hours, 36 minutes.
"I am proud of this team," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "I am proud to coach this team, and I am humbled and grateful to lead these young women. When our backs were against the wall today we fought, clawed, and found reasons to compete. The message remains the same: control the controllables, be disciplined in the details, and chop wood carry water. We were the aggressive team today, and our willingness to play bold in the big moments means we improved."
Auburn took a 1-0 lead after an epic battle in doubles came down to a pair of tiebreakers. The Tigers' No. 9-ranked team of Taylor Russo and Selin Ovunc got an early win on court 1, defeating Carolina's 56th-ranked Horvit and Davies, 6-3. But the matches on courts 2 and 3 needed extra time to decide a winner.
On court 2, the Gamecocks' 12th-ranked duo of Shelton and Chinellato fought off a pair of match points to come back for a 7-6 (5) win over Auburn's Madeline Meredith and Georgie Axon. Then, on court 3, Auburn's Yu Chen and Carolyn Ansari came back from down 5-3 and overcame three match points – two at 4-5, and one at 5-6 - to take it to a tiebreaker, winning it 7-6 (4) to clinch the point and give Auburn a 1-0 lead.
But the Gamecocks responded in singles and quickly moved back in front. Emma Shelton, ranked 125th, defeated Chen 6-0, 6-1 on court 3 to get Carolina on the board, and the Gamecocks took a 2-1 lead with a 6-4, 6-3 win on court 6 as Meredith fell to Elise Mills.
Auburn responded by pushing the remaining four matches to a third set. Russo came up short in the deciding set as No. 42 Mia Horvit prevailed 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 on court 1 to give the Gamecocks a 3-1 lead.
Ovunc got Auburn back in the match, picking up one of her biggest wins with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 20 Megan Davies to put the Tigers back within one at 3-2. The remaining two matches were all square late in the third set, but the Gamecocks claimed the clinching point on court 4 as Silvia Chinellato held off Axon 7-6, 1-6, 6-4. Ansari was deep in the third set on court 5 when play was halted.
The Tigers will wrap up the opening weekend of SEC play Sunday afternoon when they host Florida at noon CT. Admission is free to all home Auburn tennis matches.
Links to live scoring and live video (if outdoors) are available on the women's tennis schedule page at AuburnTigers.com.
For the latest on Auburn Women's Tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
#30 South Carolina 4, #48 Auburn 2
Singles
1. #42 Mia Horvit (SC) def. #78 Taylor Russo (AU), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
2. Selin Ovunc (AU) def. #20 Megan Davies (SC), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
3. #125 Emma Shelton (SC) def. Yu Chen (AU), 6-1, 6-0
4. Silvia Chinellato (SC) def. Georgie Axon (AU), 7-6, 1-6, 6-4
5. Carolyn Ansari (AU) vs. Gabriela Martinez (SC), 2-6, 6-4, 5-6 unfinished
6. Elise Mills (SC) def. Madeline Meredith (AU), 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 6, 1, 2, 4
Doubles
1. #9 Russo/Ovunc (AU) def. #56 Horvit/Davies (SC), 6-3
2. #12 Shelton/Chinellato (SC) def. Axon/Meredith (AU), 7-6 (5)
3. Ansari/Chen (AU) def. Martinez/Mills (SC), 7-6 (4)
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3