March 22, 2016
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s tennis moved up a spot to No. 8 in this week’s Oracle/ITA Rankings. It marks the second-consecutive week for South Carolina in the Top 10 and the highest ranking for the Gamecocks since finishing No. 6 in 1983.
Individually, four Gamecocks are slotted in the singles rankings. Junior Caroline Dailey is the team’s highest ranked player, moving up to No. 67, a personal best. Freshman Ingrid Gamarra Martins went from unranked to No. 75, while sophomore Hadley Berg, in the midst of a historic 14-0 campaign, enters the rankings for the first time at No. 89. Freshman Paige Cline also improved to No. 102 in the singles rankings after a 2-0 weekend.
The doubles tandem of Berg and Cline jump up to No. 34 in the doubles rankings. The duo boasts an impressive 8-1 mark this spring following Sunday’s 6-0 shutout of the No. 27-ranked doubles team from Ole Miss.
The Gamecocks are off to their best start since 1999 at 14-2 overall, including a 6-0 start to SEC play for the first time in program history. South Carolina is one of four SEC teams ranked in the top 10, along with No. 3 Georgia, No. 5 Vanderbilt and No. 7 Florida. In all, eight SEC teams are in the top 25.
The Gamecocks earned a pair of SEC road victories last weekend. They topped No. 22 Mississippi State, 4-3, on Saturday to improve to 6-0 against top-30 opponents. Carolina then took its ninth-straight victory over a ranked opponent with a 4-1 triumph at No. 37 Ole Miss on Sunday.
No. 7 Florida (11-2, 6-0) comes to town this Saturday in the first top-10 matchup in South Carolina women’s tennis history. First serve between the Gamecocks and Gators is set for 1 p.m., at the Carolina Tennis Center. Parking and admission at all home matches are free.
