No. 21 Gamecocks Host Three Match Weekend
Feb. 24, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 21 South Carolina women’s tennis hosts their first home matches this weekend at the Carolina Tennis Center. The Gamecocks will face No. 3 North Carolina Saturday, Feb. 25 at 11 a.m. The team will return to action Sunday, hosting a doubleheader against No. 39 William & Mary at 11 a.m. and Charlotte at 3 p.m. Attendance and parking for all home matches are free of charge.
Quotable
Head Coach Kevin Epley: “UNC is a great team and we are lucky to get a crack at a national championship caliber team on our home courts. We expect a competitive match, but more importantly we will get a chance to see how we stack up against the best just a few weeks before SEC competition begins.
We lost to William & Mary in Williamsburg last year and we expect them to be stronger this year, so we are geared up for another tough match. Since I coached at William & Mary, the USC vs. the Tribe matchup is a match we always look forward to. Charlotte is improving so no matter the outcome with the Tribe we are going to have to get back into a competitive mindset pretty quickly and go at it again. Overall, the weekend will be an indicator if we are physically, mentally and emotionally tough enough to play multiple, quality opponents in a short period of time.”
Gamecock Notables
- Today’s match against UNC is the team’s first home match of the season.
- The Gamecocks are 6-1 in dual play, coming off a 7-0 sweep over rival Clemson with their one loss coming from then No. 21 Arizona St. at ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
- Four Gamecocks are ranked nationally in singles, sophomores Ingrid Gamarra Martins (29) and Paige Cline (110) and freshmen Mia Horvit (100) and Silvia Chinellato (119).
- The doubles tandem of Hadley Berg and Paige Cline are ranked No. 27 nationally.
QUICK HITS: NO. 3 NORTH CAROLINA
- The Tarheels are 10-1 in dual play, their one loss coming from No. 1 Florida in the final of the ITA National Indoor Championship.
- North Carolina boasts five ranked in singles: Hayley Carter (3), Sara Daavettila (4), Jessie Aney (19), Alexa Graham (40) and Makenna Jones (70).
- Two doubles pairs are ranked, Carter and Aney (3) and Carter and Daavettila (51).
- The 2015-16 team went 31-3 overall and 14-0 in league play.
- Head coach Brian Kalbas enters his 14th season with the Tarheels.
QUICK HITS: NO. 39 WILLIAM & MARY
- The Tribe is 4-5 in dual play, coming off a 6-1 win over No. 20 Dartmouth College.
- W&M finished last season 18-7 overall, falling to Texas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament .
- The 2016-17 team is made up of two freshmen, two sophomores, four juniors and one senior.
- Tyler Thomson enters his fifth season leading the Tribe.
QUICK HITS: CHARLOTTE
- The 49ers are 5-2 this season, winning five straight after dropping the first two dual matches this season.
- Charlotte is coming off a 5-2 win over Wofford College Friday, Feb. 17 and will face Rhode Island Saturday, Feb. 25 before facing the Gamecocks.
- The Lady Techsters ended the 2015-16 season 10-10, falling to No. 6 Louisiana Tech in the first round of the Conference USA Championship.
- Michaela Gorman is in her 14th season with the Niners.
Up Next
The Gamecocks return to action to open SEC play in a road match Friday, March 3 against Texas A&M in College Station at 5 p.m.
