Feb. 5, 2016
COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 28 South Carolina women’s tennis wraps up a three-game road stretch with a contest against No. 42 William & Mary Sat., Feb. 6, in Williamsburg, Va. The Gamecocks, 5-0 for the first time since 2008, enter the contest on the heels of a victory at No. 7 Virginia and against No. 56 Marshall last weekend. The Tribe, meanwhile, are 4-2, boasting a pair of ranked wins.
Quotable
Head Coach Kevin Epley: “We are looking forward to getting back to the state of Virginia and competing against my former team. William & Mary is a very well coached, talented team that is tough to play at home. We have had a great week of practice, and the team looks hungry for another win, so it should be a great contest.”
Series Matchup
- South Carolina leads the dual match series, 5-4.
- The Gamecocks won the last dual match between the two schools, 7-0, in 2013.
- Saturday’s match marks only the second dual match between the two schools at William & Mary.
- Carolina opened the fall at the Tribe Invitational at William & Mary, where the Gamecocks went 2-0 in doubles against the Tribe.
- The two also competed at the South Carolina Fall Invitational as the Gamecocks went 5-0 in singles matchups.
South Carolina Notables
- Saturday marks a homecoming for head coach Kevin Epley, who won four CAA titles as head coach at W&M from 2003-2008.
- The 28th-ranked Gamecocks have won their three matches by a combined score of 28-4.
- South Carolina’s 4-3 win over No. 7 Virginia gave the program its first top-10 win since 2009.
- The freshman class, ranked No. 12 in the nation in 2015, is 10-1 in singles this spring.
- Freshman Ingrid Gamarra Martins (No. 54) took home SEC Freshman of the Week honors after posting a 3-0 combined record against UVA and Marshall, including the match-clinching win at No. 3 singles against the Cavaliers. She is 5-0 this spring in singles.
- Freshman Paige Cline (No. 43) received the highest ranking for a freshman entering the spring since South Carolina joined the SEC. She is 3-1 this spring and is playing at the top of the lineup.
William & Mary Notables
- Saturday’s match will be William & Mary’s home opener after playing each of its first six matches outside the state of Virginia.
- The Tribe are 2-1 this season against ranked teams with wins against No. 41 DePaul and No. 61 Penn State.
- Junior Marie Faure was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week on Wednesday, giving the Tribe the first two singles honorees of 2016 as senior Elizaveta Nemchinov (No. 91) earned the honor last week.
- Nemchinov was honored as the CAA Player of the Year and CAA Tournament MVP in 2015. She is 3-1 this spring at the top of the lineup.
- Head coach Tyler Thomson has led the Tribe to Colonial Association Championships in two of his three seasons.
Up Next
Carolina returns home for three straight matches as it nears the end of its non-conference slate. The Gamecocks host a doubleheader on Sat., Feb. 13 as they take on Georgia State at 10 a.m. and UNC Charlotte at 3 p.m. Clemson comes to town the following Saturday for the teams’ annual rivalry matchup. Attendance and parking at all home matches are free.
