Shelton Wins Singles, Doubles Titles at Charleston Tennis Circuit Event

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Emma Shelton from the South Carolina women’s tennis team won the singles and doubles titles as an unattached participant playing in a Charleston Tennis Circuit event in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., on Sunday.

Shelton first snagged a 6-1, 6-1 victory in her round of 16 match and then follow with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph in the quarterfinals. She needed three sets to advance out of the semifinals, winning 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7), and then had to come back again in the championship match to earn the title by scores of 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8).

In the doubles bracket, Shelton and her partner had a first-round bye in the quarterfinals and then won 6-2, 6-2 against Gamecock newcomers Lindsay Tulenko and Corina Spasojevic in the semifinals. They registered a 6-1, 6-2 triumph in the championship match.

“We are really happy for Emma,” head coach Kevin Epley said. “She was battling a wrist injury throughout the tournament and kept on fighting. The hard work she put in over the summer is clearly paying off.”

In August, Shelton ran away with the singles trophy in the A Flight of an event hosted by Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville, Ga., as part of the Oracle ITA Summer Circuit Powered by UTR. She dropped just 11 games in five matches and won the championship bout by a 6-1, 6-0 score.

Hailing from Gainesville, Fla., Shelton, the 2019-20 ITA Carolina Region Rookie of the Year, had an unblemished 11-0 singles record during the spring with the majority of her matches coming at the No. 3 singles spot. She was ranked a career-high No. 92 in singles when the season ended and ascended as high as No. 12 in the nation in doubles with Silvia Chinellato before the pair finished 24th. Shelton also earned SEC Freshman of the Week in February following wins against Oklahoma State and Coastal Carolina.