Womens Tennis Upsets No. 23 Vanderbilt—University of South Carolina Athletics

Columbia, SC Well. 34 South Carolina women’s tennis defeated No. 23 Vanderbilt 4-1 on Sunday afternoon. After dropping a singles point, the Gamecocks were dominant in singles play, earning four straight wins.

In doubles, the Commodores picked up a point with a 6-3 win over the No. 2 seed and a 7-5 win over the No. 3 seed. The first match was halfway through when the game was suspended.

In singles, it was all Gamecocks at No. 14 Sarah Hamner leveling the first win at 1-1. Well. 80 Against Anna Ross, Hamner was dominant, taking the match 6-3, 6-4 and winning second singles in as many matches.

Senior Elise Mills was next to put a point on the table, beating 113th place Anessa Lee. Mills won his first set 6-3 and battled through a rough tiebreaker to take the second 7-6(4) to give the Gamecocks the lead.

The next singles win came on Court 3, where she was a sophomore Gracie Mulville took on No. 60 Bridget Stammel. Mulville and Stammel battled through the first set and needed a tiebreaker to decide, but the Commodore came away with a 7-6(2) win. In the second set, Mulville was relentless, winning the set 6-1 to force a third.

In the final set, the Gamecock started hot and went up 5-0, but Stammel battled back and took the next two games. Mulville was finally able to end his match with one more game win and took the third set 6-2. The win over No. 60 now ranks Mulville’s highest in his career.

All three remaining matches were in the third period, but it was older Ayana Akli which earned a clinical. The No. 7 Gamecock faced Vanderbilt with No. 48 Celiia-Belle Mohr at the top of the lineup. The first set was a back and fourth battle that needed a tiebreak to decide. Commodore had all the momentum stopped and won 7-6(2). In the second set, Akli broke Mohr 3-0 in his first service game and held the lead throughout, winning the set 6-3.

The final set was dead even though Mohr pounced first and each player played their own service games to ten. Although even at 5-5, Akli took a much-needed break and was able to serve out the match with a 7-5 final set for the win.

The women’s tennis team is now 8-6 overall and 3-2 in conference play. The win marks the teams first top 25 win of the season.

The Gamecocks now face their first SEC road game of the season, traveling to Mississippi to face Ole Miss and Mississippi State on March 24th and 26th.

You can still find all the latest South Carolina women’s tennis information on GamecocksOnline.com or by following the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).

(34) South Carolina 4, (23) Vanderbilt 1

Doubles (ending order: 2, 3)

1. Ayana Akli/Allie Gretkowski (SC) vs. Anna Ross/Holly Staff (VANDY-W) 6-6 (4-5), draw
2. Celia-Belle Mohr/Marcella Cruz (VANDY-W) def. Sarah Hamner/Gracie Mulville (SC) 6-3
3. Anessa Lee/Bridget Stammel (VANDY-W) def. Misa Malkin/Elise Mills (SC) 7-5

Singles (finishing order: 2, 5, 3, 1)

1. #7 Ayana Akli (SC) def. #48 Celia-Belle Mohr (VANDY-W) 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 7-5
2. #14 Sarah Hamner (SC) def. #80 Anna Ross (VANDY-W) 6-3, 6-4
3. Gracie Mulville (SC) def. #60 Bridget Stammel (VANDY-W) 6-7 (2-7), 6-1, 6-2
4. Misa Malkin (SC) vs. #111 Holly Staff (VANDY-W) 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 4-2, undefeated
5. Elise Mills (SC) def. #113 Anessa Lee (VANDY-W) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
6. McKenna Schaefbauer (SC) vs. Amy Stevens (VANDY-W) 7-5, 5-7, 4-3, draw