Women’s Tennis Heads to Clemson for Rivalry Matchup

Columbia, S.C.  – South Carolina women’s tennis will return to action this Tuesday, Feb. 14, traveling to Clemson, S.C., to take on the Tigers in search of a Palmetto Series point.

The match is part of the SC Education Lottery Palmetto Series that pits the rivals against each other in search of the Palmetto Series trophy and bragging rights. Started in 2015, South Carolina leads the overall Palmetto Series 4-0. The Gamecock women’s tennis team has earned a point in each of the four competitions.

The match will be played at the Duckworth Family Tennis Center beginning at 3 p.m. Live stats will be available here and live streaming will be available here.

Gamecock Notables

• South Carolina is 1-2 on the season with a 4-2 win over Northwestern during the ITA Kickoff Weekend and losses to No. 3 NC State and No. 8 Virginia.
• The Gamecocks have two players ranked in the top-15 of the latest ITA Singles rankings. Sophomore Sarah Hamner comes in at No. 6 and senior Ayana Akli is ranked No. 13.
• Akli has led the team this season, playing at the No. 1 singles position where she is 2-0. The Silver Springs, Maryland, native is 17-6 overall on the season and is on a five-match singles winning streak with all five wins coming in straight-sets over ranked opponents. She is 11-6 when facing opponents with rankings and most recently defeated No. 34 Julia Adams of Virginia 6-1, 6-3.
• No. 6 Hamner has not seen dual action this spring after suffering an ankle injury but has an overall singles record of 12-5 through tournament play. Hamner is 7-4 against ranked opponents and has two top-10 ranked wins on the season.
• Akli and sophomore Gracie Mulville have led the team in doubles. The duo is 3-3 overall together with two wins during tournament play and one dual win.

Scouting the Tigers

• Clemson enters the matchup with an 8-1 record on the season including a perfect 7-0 mark on their home courts. Seven of their eight wins have been sweeps and their only loss of the season comes against Pepperdine during the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
• The Tigers have no singles or doubles pairs ranked by the ITA.
• Clemson has been led by senior Eleni Louka who is 3-1 from the top spot in the lineup. Junior Cristina Mayorova has also played at the No. 1 spot for the Tigers, going 2-0. Mayorova primarily plays at the No. 2 position where she is 4-1.
• Clemson has had consistency in the bottom half of their lineup with the Nos. 4, 5, and 6 positions all going undefeated thus far.

Series History

• South Carolina leads the all-time series 31-27 and has a 14-17 record when playing at Clemson.
• The two teams have met at least once a year for the past 33 years with the Gamecocks going 21-12 in that time span. Eight of those wins have come at Clemson.
• South Carolina enters the 2023 edition of the rivalry on an eight-match winning streak against the Tigers, most recently having defeated them 4-2 in Columbia in February 2022.
• The Gamecocks last win at Clemson was 4-1 in 2021.

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