Women's Tennis Announces 2017 Spring Schedule
Dec. 8, 2016
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina women’s tennis program announced its 2017 spring schedule Thursday that includes 15 matches against NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago and 10 teams that finished the 2016 season in the ITA top-30. Head coach Kevin Epley looks to build on a positive fall campaign as the team prepares for a challenging spring season.
The Gamecocks will have nine home matches in the spring season, including six SEC teams (Tennessee, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, Mississippi State and Ole Miss).
“We have an incredibly tough schedule this year. This is our ‘away’ year which means we will be playing the bulk of our matches on the road against some of the best opponents in the country,” said Epley. “We are encouraged by what we have seen this fall and are looking forward to the process of taking each of these matches one at a time and improving along the way. Our ultimate goal is to be playing in Athens as a team in May and we are anxious for the journey to begin.”
The spring season commences with an in-state trip to Greenville, S.C. to play Furman, Sunday, Jan. 15. The following weekend the Gamecocks travel to Florida for a doubleheader against North Florida University of Florida A&M in preparation for the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Lubbock, Texas, Jan. 28-29.
The women will face Palmetto State rival Clemson on the road Friday, Feb. 2. The contest marks another opportunity for the Gamecocks to grab a point in the annual Palmetto Series. The team will travel to Charlottesville, Va., Sunday, Feb. 5, to face off against Virginia before three consecutive weekends at home.
SEC play then kicks into high gear with 10 consecutive conference matchups, six of which will come against teams that finished the 2016 season in the ITA top-30.
The SEC Tournament will be played April 19-23 at the Currey Tennis Center in Nashville, Tenn. NCAA Regionals will be May 12-14. The women look host again after entering last year’s tournament with a No. 13 ranking. The NCAA Championships take place at Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., May 18 -29.
