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Winston-Salem, N.C. – ­No. 24 ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ women’s tennis emerged victorious in Winston-Salem on Saturday, fighting back from down 1-3 to win the match 4-3 over Wake Forest. The Gamecocks dropped the doubles point but were able to claim four singles wins for the victory.

In doubles, Wake Forest claimed wins on Courts 1 and 3 before the Gamecocks could register any victories. Shahar Biran and Misa Malkin were leading their match 5-2 when play was suspended.

Play moved to singles where Malkin was first to put a point on the board, evening the match score at 1-1. The junior defeated Nevena Carton 6-2, 6-3 to improve to 12-9 in singles this season and 5-1 from the No. 4 position.

The Demon Deacon’s rallied back to claim the next two points with Marcella Cruz defeating No. 108 Biran and No. 35 Casie Wooten defeating No. 3 Ayana Akli.

With the home team leading by two, all remaining courts had to go in ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ’s favor for the win and all courts were in decisive third sets.

On the No. 5 court, Elise Mills was battling from behind after dropping her first set 4-6 to Sankavi Gownder. The graduate won her second set with a late break 7-5 and came back strong in the final set, winning it 6-4.

At the second spot in the lineup, No. 4 Sarah Hamner was in a similar situation, having given up her first set 5-7 and taken her second set 7-5. The junior was relentless in the final set, winning it 6-3 to even the match at 3-3.

The final match on was between Olympe Lancelot and Krystal Blanch with the Gamecock taking the first set 6-4 and the Demon Deacon taking the second set in a tiebreak 7-6(5). The pressure was no problem for Lancelot who rallied to breeze through her final set 6-2, clinching the win.

The Gamecocks now improve to 6-1 on the season and will return home to host Charlotte and Charleston Southern on Feb. 25^th for their final non-conference matches. The doubleheader will begin at 2:00 p.m. with the second match following at 6:00 p.m.

For all the latest ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ women’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).

#24 ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ 4, Wake Forest 3

Doubles (order of finish: 3, 1)

1. Brooke Killingsworth/Marcella Cruz (WFU) def. #27 Ayana Akli/Olympe Lancelot (SC) 6-3
2. Krystal Blanch/Casie Wooten (WFU) vs. Shahar Biran/Misa Malkin (SC) 2-5, unfinished
3. Sankavi Gownder/Whitley Pate (WFU) def. Elise Mills/Sarah Hamner (SC) 6-2

Singles (order of finish: 4, 3, 1, 5, 2, 6)

1. #35 Casie Wooten (WFU) def. #3 Ayana Akli (SC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
2. #4 Sarah Hamner (SC) def. Brooke Killingsworth (WFU) 5-7, 7-5, 6-3
3. Marcella Cruz (WFU) def. #108 Shahar Biran (SC) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
4. Misa Malkin (SC) def. Nevena Carton (WFU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Elise Mills (SC) def. Sankavi Gownder (WFU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
6. Olympe Lancelot (SC) def. Krystal Blanch (WFU) 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2