The Basics

Score: South Carolina 4, VCU 2
Records: VCU (7-3), South Carolina (4-2)
Location: Thalhimer Tennis Center – Richmond, Va.
The Short Story: Newcomers Cindy Chala and Olga Barscheuskaya earned singles victories, but it wasn't enough as the VCU women's tennis team suffered a tough home loss to the hands  of South Carolina, 4-2. The Gamecocks entered the weekend ranked 30^th in the latest ITA poll.

How It Happened

• Sophomore Salome Kvitashvili and junior Olga Terteac picked up an 8-4 win at the third doubles position, but South Carolina won the other two doubles matches to grab a 1-0 advantage.
• Chala got VCU on the board by taking down South Carolina's Jaklin Alawi, 6-3, 6-4. Alawi entered the match as the 59^th-ranked player in the latest  ITA singles rankings.
• The Gamecocks picked up two singles wins of their own to push the lead to 3-1, but Barscheuskaya battled her way to a 7-5, 6-1 win over Adriana Pereira at the fifth singles position to make it, 3-2.
• However, South Carolina's Ximena Siles Luna battled back to earn a 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 win over  Terteac at the fourth singles spot to secure the win for the Gamecocks.

South Carolina 4, VCU 2

Doubles

1. Alawi/Kanakova (USC) def. Hjertquist, 8-4
2. Popova/Andersson (USC) def. Yakauleva/Barscheuskaya, 8-4
3. Kvitashvili/Terteac (VCU) def. Pereira/Siles Luna, 8-5

Singles

1. Cindy Chala (VCU) def. #59 Jaklin Alawi, 6-3, 6-4
2. Katerina Popova (USC) def. Salome Kvitashvili, 6-0, 6-4
3. Dominika Kanakova (USC) def. Josefin Hjertquist, 6-4, 6-3
4. Ximena Siles Luna (USC) def. Olga Terteac, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
5. Olga Barscheuskaya (VCU) def. Adriana Pereira, 7-5, 6-1
6. Yukako Noi (VCU) vs. Josefin Andersson, 7-6 (7-2), 5-1 DNF