May 3, 2016
COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 13 South Carolina women’s tennis earned its 22nd-consecutive NCAA postseason berth on Tuesday night as it was selected to host NCAA Championship first-and second-round matches May 13-14. The Gamecocks, which received the No. 13 overall seed, joined the 64-team field during the 30-minute live-broadcast special, which streamed on NCAA.com.
“One of our goals this year was to host regionals, so we are thrilled to open the NCAA Championships in front of our home crowd,” head coach Kevin Epley said. “We have some talented teams coming into Columbia, so we expect some great, competitive matches.”
Carolina will host one of 16 four-team regional brackets as the top seed in the regional, while No. 16 Georgia Tech, No. 40 Princeton and No. 75 Winthrop round out the competition. First-round action will take place Fri., May 13, with Georgia Tech facing Princeton at 2 p.m., and South Carolina taking on Winthrop at 5 p.m. Second round play is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. The winner of each regional advances to the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla., where the 16 teams will compete for the national championship May 19-24.
This season will mark South Carolina’s 26th overall NCAA Tournament appearance and the fourth time it has qualified for the postseason under head coach Kevin Epley. The Gamecocks have reached the second round in each of the last two seasons under Epley and in seven of their last eight appearances overall. South Carolina has advanced past the regional twice, most recently in 2009 when Carolina reached the NCAA Quarterfinals.
The Gamecocks will enter the NCAA postseason following a strong spring season in which they matched a program-high nine SEC wins and finished tied for fourth in the league, marking their highest finish since 2007. Carolina, which started the season 14-2, surged as high as No. 8 in the ITA Rankings this spring, marking its highest team ranking since 1983. The Gamecocks remained in the top 10 for a program-best four straight weeks while navigating through the heart of their SEC slate and head into the regional with 18 wins on the season, their most since 1999.
Tickets for each round of the tournament will be $5 and $3 for students with a valid student ID. Children two and under will be admitted at no charge. Tickets will be available at the main entrance of the Carolina Tennis Center on the day of the event.
2016 NCAA Columbia Regional
May 13-14 | Carolina Tennis Center | Columbia, S.C.
1. South Carolina
2. Georgia Tech
3. Princeton
4. Winthrop
