No. 11 Gamecocks Open SEC Tournament Play Friday

April 20, 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 11 South Carolina women’s tennis will begin play in the SEC Tournament on Friday, April 21 at 7 p.m. E.T. in Nashville, Tenn. The Gamecocks (17-7, 8-5) enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed, the program’s highest seed under the direction of head coach Kevin Epley, and will take on either No. 29 Ole Miss or No. 19 Kentucky in the third-round Friday.

South Carolina split a pair of road matches to close out the regular season tied for fourth in the SEC. The Gamecocks fell 4-1 to No. 5 Vanderbilt on April 14 before bouncing back to take down No. 13 Kentucky 4-3 on Sunday.

History in the SEC Tournament

The Gamecocks are competing the their 26th SEC Tournament this season and own an all-time record of 21-25. The Gamecocks have reached the championship match on one occasion (2002) and the semifinals four times (1995, 1999, 2002, 2010). Carolina has competed in at least the quarterfinals all but five times (1993, 2004, 2008, 2013, 2015) as well. The Gamecocks suffered a 4-0 loss to Auburn in the quarterfinals of last year’s tournament.

Gamecock Notables

• South Carolina maintained a top-15 ranking in this week’s Oracle/ITA Rankings, moving up one spot to No. 11.
• Ingrid Gamarra Martins came in at No. 45 in the singles rankings with freshman Mia Horvit moving into the No. 58 spot.
• The Gamecocks boast two ranked doubles pairs, Hadley Berg and Paige Cline come in at No. 29, while the duo of Berg and Caroline Dailey claim the No. 65 spot.
• The Gamecocks defeated Kentucky 4-3 in the last weekend of SEC play in Lexington, Kentucky this season.
• South Carolina defeated Ole Miss 4-2 on April 9 in Columbia, 4-2.
• Head coach Kevin Epley is in his fifth season leading the Gamecocks.

• QUICK HITS: No. 19 Kentucky

  • The Wildcats are 7-6 in the SEC and 15-7 overall.
  • Kentucky is seeded No. 5, posting their first seven-win SEC season since 2006 and the first season the Wildcats finished above .500 in conference play since 2007.
  • Ranked singles: Aldila Sutjiadi (20).
  • Ranked doubles: Sutjiadi and Mami Adachi (2), AkvilÄ- ParažinskaitÄ- and Sutjiadi (66) and ParažinskaitÄ- and Morgan Chumney (87).

  QUICK HITS: No. 29 Ole Miss

  • The Rebels are14-12 overall and 3-10 in the SEC this season.
  • They are seeded No. 12 in the tournament and defeated 13th-seeded Missouri, 4-2, on Wednesday to advance to the second round.
  • The 49ers are off to an impressive 3-0 start to the season with wins against Gardner-Webb (6-1), Presbyterian (7-0) and College of Charleston (4-3).
  • Ranked singles: Arianne Hartono (33) and Natalie Suk (78).
  • Ranked doubles: Hartono and Alexa Bortles (47).

Up Next

A victory would move South Carolina into the semifinals of the tournament on Saturday at 1 p.m. For more information on South Carolina women’s tennis team follow them on Facebook and Twitter at gamecockwtennis or check out GamecocksOnline.com.