Women's Tennis . April 14, 2022

No. 23 South Carolina Prepped for No. 16 Florida

Columbia, S.C. – No. 23 South Carolina travels to No. 16 Florida for its final dual match of the season on Saturday. The Gamecocks will face the Gators at 12:30 p.m.

Gamecock Notables

The Gamecocks are ranked No. 23 in the most recent ITA National Team Rankings sponsored by Tennis Point. Three Gamecocks are ranked in singles with No. 5 Sarah Hamner, No. 57 Ayana Akli and No. 118 Elise Mills. In doubles, South Carolina has ranked pairs in No. 25 Hamner/Misa Malkin and No. 35 Megan Davies/Hamner.
South Carolina is fresh off a 2-0 weekend in which it upset No. 13 Auburn 4-3 and took down then-No. 42 Alabama 4-1.
Hamner now boasts 32 singles wins this season, 14 of which have come from dual matches.
Mills is on a three-match winning streak and is 10-6 in the No. 4 singles position.
Hamner and Akli each have an 8-2 SEC singles record this season. They are tied fifth in the record book for singles wins in regular-season SEC play and can tie for first this weekend.
Graduate student Davies is on a three-match winning streak in singles after she upset the No. 87 player against Auburn and clinched the win against Alabama in her final home appearance.
South Carolina has won six of its last seven singles points in straight sets.
Hamner and Davies are 6-3 in the No. 1 doubles position against SEC opponents.
Akli and Ana Cruz continue to dominate in doubles with a six-match winning streak and a 9-3 record in SEC play.

Scouting the Gators

No. 16 Florida is 17-5 this season including a 9-3 record in SEC play. At home, it is 8-2.
The Gators most recently fell at home to No. 13 Auburn 6-1 for their second home loss this season. They also suffered a home loss to then-No. 23 Georgia in a 4-1 decision.
Florida had its nine-match winning streak snapped when it lost to Auburn.
The Gators are fourth in the SEC with one match remaining in the season.
Florida is 11-5 against ranked teams this spring with a 5-5 record against top-25 teams.
The Gators boast ranked players in No. 12 McCartney Kessler, No. 67 Marlee Zein, No. 9 Carly Briggs/Zein, No. 48 Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee and No. 66 Dudeney/Kessler.
No. 12 Kessler is 11-1 in the No. 1 spot in SEC singles play. She was on an 11-match winning streak when she was defeated by then-No. 69 Selin Ovunc of Auburn.
The Gators have won the doubles point six times in SEC play and 16 times in dual matches.
The nine women on the Florida roster are led by head coach Roland Thornqvist, assistant coach Lauren Embree and volunteer assistant coach McClain Kessler.

The Florida Series

South Carolina is 5-46 all-time against Florida, including a 1-20 record on the road.
Most recently, the Gamecocks topped the Gators 4-1 in the 2021 SEC Tournament.
The Gamecocks last traveled to Florida in the 2019 season and came out on top in a 4-2 decision.
South Carolina has taken the doubles point in three of the last four meetings.
The Gamecocks will look to extend their winning streak in the series to two.

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