College of Charleston Women’s Tennis Swept By Gamecocks

COLUMBIA, SC Feb. 23, 2013 – The No. 72-ranked College of Charleston women’s tennis team had a tough match this afternoon as they were swept 5-0 by No. 38 South Carolina at the USC Field House.

The Cougars (4-3) had hoped that the match would be held outdoors but were forced to play inside due to rain in Columbia.

The Gamecocks (6-3) posed a difficult challenge for CofC as they claim the No. 59 and No. 114-ranked singles players in the nation in Jaklin Alawi and Katerina Popova, respectively. Alawi topped senior Christin Newman (Greensboro, N.C.) in No. 1 singles and Popova defeated freshman Brooke McAmis (Greensboro, N.C.) in the No. 2 position.

Doubles was a similar story as USC also boasts the No. 57-ranked tandem of Jaklin Alawi and Dominika Kanakova. The two overcame the Cougar duo of freshman Katherine Schofield (Franklin, Tenn.) and senior Irene Viana (Paris, France) in the No. 1 slot.

“As evidenced by the score, South Carolina was the better team today,” CofC Director of Tennis Angelo Anastopoulo said. “Coach Kevin Epley has his team moving in the right direction and I think they will do very well this year. We’ll have to use this week of practice to try to get more of our players healthy as we prepare for a challenging spring break road trip against some quality teams.”

CofC will next be in action a week from today when they face Stetson on Saturday, Mar. 2 at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center at noon (ET) in DeLand, Fla.

(38) SOUTH CAROLINA 5, (72) COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 0

February 23, 2013

USC Field House

in Columbia, S.C.

SINGLES

No. 1 – #59 Jaklin Alawi (USC) def. Christin Newman (COFC), 6-4, 6-1.

No. 2 – #114 Katerina Popova (USC) def. Brooke McAmis (COFC) 6-0, 6-1.

No. 3 – Elixane Lechemia (USC) def. Samantha Maddox (COFC) 7-6 (8-6), 6-2.

No. 4 – Dominika Kanakova (USC) def. Katherine Schofield (COFC) 6-0, 6-1.

No. 5 – Ximena Siles Luna (USC) vs. Irene Viana (COFC) 2-5, unfinished.

No. 6 – Josefin Andersson (USC) vs. Olivia McMillan (COFC) 1-6, 1-0, unfinished.

DOUBLES

No. 1 – #57 Jaklin Alawi-Dominika Kanakova (USC) def. Katherine Schofield-Irene Viana (COFC) 8-2.

No. 2 – Katerina Popova-Josefin Andersson (USC) def. Samantha Maddox-Brooke McAmis (COFC) 8-0.

No. 3 – Christin Newman-Olivia McMillan (COFC) vs. M. Elixane Lechemia-Ximena Siles Luna (USC) 1-7, unfinished.

ORDER OF FINISH

Doubles: 2, 1*

Singles: 2, 1, 4*, 3