USC women advance at NCAA tennis tournament

The lower half of the lineup came through once again as No. 13 South Carolina took down in-state foe Winthrop 4-2 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Carolina Tennis Center.

The Gamecocks (19-7, 9-4) advance to the second round for the third straight year, where they’ll take on No. 17 Georgia Tech Saturday at 2 p.m.

In doubles, South Carolina overcame an early Winthrop lead with a pair of wins at No. 2 and No. 3. Following a 6-4 win by Winthrop at No. 1, Carolina’s No. 3 tandem of Ingrid Gamarra Martins and Rachel Rohrabacher stormed to a 6-3 win. The Gamecocks then secured the doubles point as Brigit Folland and Caroline Dailey closed out a 6-4 victory at No. 2.

In singles, Folland powered her way to a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 5 and Hadley Berg earned a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 victory at No. 4. Ximena Siles Luna, who clinched a win against Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season, took a straight-set victory at No. 6 to deliver the win.

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 10:32 PM.