Gamecock Women’s Tennis Schedule Finalized

Sept. 10, 2008

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Head coach Arlo Elkins from the South Carolina women’s tennis team announced the team’s schedule for the 2008-09 academic year Wednesday.

The Gamecocks kick off their fall campaign at the UVa Invitational over Sept. 19-21 in Charlottesville, Va., before heading to the Furman Fall Classic in Greenville, S.C., the following weekend. After a couple weeks of rest, Carolina heads to Evansville, Ill., for the Wildcat Invitational hosted by Northwestern from Oct. 10-12. The fall wraps up at the annual SEC Fall Coaches Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala., over Nov. 6-8.

A challenging spring schedule awaits South Carolina starting in January, and it figures to be even tougher given that 15 of 20 regular-season matches will be played on the road. Of the 20 opponents on the slate, 16 advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and 10 made it to at least the second round.

“On top of having the SEC schedule, which is always one of the toughest in the country, we have an excellent non-conference schedule as well,” Elkins said. “We added some new teams this year in order to beef up our schedule because we think we’ll have a good team and wanted to schedule matches accordingly.”

The Gamecocks get started Jan. 21 at Furman and then take on Miami (Ohio) and Michigan on the road Jan. 23 and 25. South Carolina and Ohio State square off in Durham, N.C., in one of 15 regional sites Jan. 31 as part of the ITA National Indoor Championships. The following day the Gamecocks face either VCU or Duke.

February is a light month for South Carolina with only two matches on the slate. More matches would be added should South Carolina win the regional in Durham, as it would head to Madison, Wis., for the final rounds of the indoor championships over Feb. 13-16. On Feb. 22, the Gamecocks will take on rival Clemson on the Tigers’ home courts.

SEC play begins March 6 in Nashville, Tenn., with a contest against Vanderbilt and then the Gamecocks take on Kentucky on March 8 in Lexington, Ky. South Carolina then heads to Las Vegas to play UNLV on March 11 before coming back to Columbia, S.C., for its first home matches of the year. The Gamecocks host Tennessee and Georgia on March 13 and 15 at Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center.

After its first two home matches, South Carolina hits the road again for its final two non-conference matches of the year. First up is Florida International in Miami on March 21 and the following day Carolina plays in Tampa, Fla., versus USF.

The Gamecocks finish out their conference schedule first playing Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., on March 27 and then host Ole Miss two days afterward. South Carolina is on the road the following weekend at Arkansas and LSU on April 3 and 5 before hosting its final two matches of the year. Carolina faces Auburn and Alabama on April 10 and 12 in Columbia and finishes out the regular season on the road playing Florida on April 18.

This year’s SEC Tournament will be held in Fayetteville, Ark., over April 23-26. All 12 teams compete in the tournament. The NCAA Tournament starts with first- and second-round action from May 8-10 at 16 regional sites to be announced when the draw is released. The round of 16 and beyond along with the singles and doubles championships are set for May 15-25 at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. The men’s championships will be played at the same time in College Station.