No. 14 Gamecocks Selected to Host NCAA Regional in Columbia
May 2, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 14 South Carolina women’s tennis earned its 23rd-consecutive NCAA postseason berth on Tuesday night as they were selected to host NCAA Championship first and second round matches May 12-13. The Gamecocks, who received the No. 14 overall seed, joined the 64-team field during the 30-minute live-broadcast special, which streamed on NCAA.com.
Carolina will host one of 16 four-team regional brackets as the top seed in the regional, while Texas, Wake Forest and North Florida round out the competition. First round action will take place Friday, May 12 with South Carolina facing North Florida and Texas taking on Wake Forest. Second round play is scheduled for Saturday, May 13. The winner of each regional advances to the Dan McGill Tennis Center in Athens, Georgia, where the 16 teams will compete for the national championship May 18-24.
This season will mark South Carolina’s 27th overall NCAA Tournament appearance and the fifth time it has qualified for the postseason under head coach Kevin Epley. The Gamecocks have reached the second round in the last three seasons and in eight of their last nine 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 posted an 8-5 league record and finished fourth in the league for the second-consecutive season. The Gamecocks have maintained a top-15 ranking for the last five weeks of the season while navigating through the heart of their SEC slate and head into the regional with 18 wins on the season for the second consecutive year.
Tickets for each round of the tournament will be $5 general admission and $3 for students with a valid student ID. Children ages 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.
For more information on South Carolina women’s tennis, follow the team on Twitter and Instagram at gamecockwtennis, or visit GamecocksOnline.com for updates.
