After defeating No. 7 USC in dramatic fashion to advance to the Sweet 16, there was no telling how far the UW women’s tennis team could go in the NCAA championships.

But a tough South Carolina squad and scorching Texas temperatures proved to be too much for the Huskies as they ended their season with a 4-0 loss to the Gamecocks in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA championships at College Station, Texas.

A tough match in the 90-degree heat against a team the Huskies knew little about proved to be a poor combination. Once the Huskies grew comfortable with their opponents, they started a comeback run. But by that time, it was too late.

“The match was a tough one for us,” head coach Jill Hultquist said. “It took us long to figure out the opponents, but once we did, we were coming back on a lot of courts.”

After coming off of one of the most impressive upset wins in Husky history against the Trojans, the Dawgs came out Friday with an upset win at No. 1 doubles.

Junior Joyce Ardies and freshman Denise Dy continued their dominance with a win over the No. 27 doubles duo of Ana Marija Zubori and Natasa Vuckovic. The duo improved their doubles record to 13-1 this year. But the Huskies couldn’t come up with another doubles victory, leaving South Carolina to claim the last two doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead.

No. 19 sophomore Venise Chan, who came back from a 5-2 deficit in the third set to clinch the match against USC, struggled Friday and lost at No. 1 singles for just the fourth time this year.

“[Chan’s] timing was off,” Hultquist said. “If her timing is off, she is a different player. She wasn’t the Venise that we’ve seen over the last four months.”

Already down 2-0, things were going downhill for the Huskies. Every player lost their first set, and soon, sophomore Lina Xu lost her match at No. 3 singles to give South Carolina a 3-0 advantage.

A valiant comeback effort was thwarted when Dy, who played through shin splints, was outlasted 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 at No. 2 singles by Zubori.

“Denise had a great match,” Hultquist said. “It was unfortunate that her shins got really bad toward the end. I think if she was healthy, she could have pulled it out.”

The loss marks an end to an otherwise impressive season for the UW. After winning just three matches in 2005, Hultquist and assistant coach Damon Coupe have come a long way in rebuilding the program, guiding the team back to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2004.

“They got to see who the other top-16 teams were and watch them practice and watch the matches,” the fourth-year coach said. “It was neat for them to be a part of it and feel like they did belong to this event.”

Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.