Women's Tennis . March 15, 2018

Gamecocks Set For SEC Weekend At Tennessee, Georgia

March 15, 2018

No. 10 South Carolina at No. 30 Tennessee & No. 8 Georgia

Knoxville, Tenn. — No. 10 South Carolina women’s tennis looks to extend its seven-match winning streak with two SEC road matches at No. 30 Tennessee on Friday and at No. 8 Georgia on Sunday.

The Gamecocks enter the road trip after a successful weekend at the Carolina Tennis Center, where they are 8-0 this season. The team swept No. 35 Texas A&M on Friday, 4-0, and earned a 4-1 win over No. 36 LSU on Saturday.

South Carolina is 20-26 all-time against Tennessee and 15-46 all-time against Georgia. The Gamecocks won the last three meetings against the Volunteers, but dropped the past eight meetings with the Bulldogs. Sunday’s match gives them a chance to grab a win against Georgia for the first time since April 23, 2010.

QUOTABLE

“Every match in the SEC is brutal. We’ve got to take them one at a time. We’re going to be on the road again. Playing on the road in the SEC is even harder. We’ve really got to get to work this week and work on some of the things we noticed over the weekend and make sure we’re ready to play Tennessee. If we can get through Tennessee, which will be a tough fight, we’re looking forward to a tough Georgia team.” — Head Coach Kevin Epley

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

After being ranked No. 11 nationally last week, the Gamecocks moved up one spot in this week’s Oracle/ITA polls to a season-high No. 10. The Top 10 ranking was the first for the Gamecocks since they were ranked No. 10 on April 5, 2016. That season the team peaked at No. 8 before finishing the year at No. 13.
The Gamecocks remain at a season-high No. 11 in the USTA Top 25 national rankings, it was announced March 14. The team received 120 points and is one of seven SEC teams ranked in the Top 25.
Ranked in singles: Hadley Berg (29), Ingrid Gamarra Martins (110), Megan Davies (121)
Ranked in doubles: Megan Davies and Silvia Chinellato (63), Paige Cline and Ingrid Gamarra Martins (79)
After going 2-0 in singles and 1-0 in doubles this past weekend, Paige Cline was named the SEC Player of the Week, it was announced on March 14. The Player of the Week award was the first for Cline, who was named SEC Freshman of the Week on March 14, 2016.
South Carolina has utilized 11 doubles pairs in 2018. Junior Rachel Rohrabacher and freshman Megan Davies lead the team at 8-0 in 2018 and are 7-0 in dual match play. The Gamecocks have captured the doubles point in their last seven matches.
South Carolina is 4-2 against ranked opponents this season, defeating No. 11 Texas, No. 7 Ole Miss, No. 35 Texas A&M and No. 36 LSU, but falling to No. 9 Duke and No. 13 UCLA.
Rohrabacher holds a team-high nine-match winning streak in singles, with a perfect 7-0 record at the No. 6 spot in the lineup. Individually, the junior is 9-1 in 2018 dual match doubles play.
At 19-3 in singles this season, Berg surpassed Brigit Folland for seventh on the career list for singles wins with 93. She is looking to become just the fourth player in school history with 100 wins.
Berg’s 19-3 singles record this season has her at 93-30 overall for her career, with a winning percentage of .756 that ranks seventh in school history.
The Gamecocks have amassed seven sweeps this season: Oklahoma, Clemson, North Florida, Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, No. 7 Ole Miss and No. 35 Texas A&M.
Epley is four match wins away from reaching 100 at South Carolina and is three wins from 250 overall on his career.
The Gamecocks advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 last season for the first time since 2009, marking their 23rd consecutive postseason appearance.
South Carolina sent two singles players, Mia Horvit and Ingrid Gamarra Martins, to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Singles Championship for the first time since 1983 when Laura Bernstein and Ellen Oxreider both moved on. Horvit went on to reach the round of 16, making her the first singles All-American for South Carolina since Bernstein in 1983.

SCOUTING NO. 30 TENNESSEE

The Volunteers are 12-3 with a 0-3 record in SEC play. Tennessee won 12 straight matches from Jan. 20 — Feb. 26, but lost its last three matches at Texas A&M, No. 43 LSU and No. 7 Georgia.
Ranked in doubles: Ariadna Riley and Kaitlin Staines (69)
Similar to South Carolina, the Vols are undefeated at home this season at 6-0.
The doubles tandem of Ariadna Riley and Kaitlin Staines is 9-0 at the No. 2 lineup spot.
Last season, the Vols were 19-12 overall with a 4-9 record in SEC play.
Head Coach Alison Ojeda, a former Tennessee All-American tennis player, is in her second season leading the team.
The Tennessee roster is composed of two freshmen, three sophomores and two juniors.
The Vols have found consistent productivity at the bottom half of their singles lineup. Overall, the team is 12-2 at No. 4 singles, 10-4 at No. 5 singles and 12-2 at No. 6 singles this season. Gabby Schuck is 8-2 at the No. 4 spot. Kaitlin Staines is 5-1 at No. 5 singles and 4-0 at No. 6 singles, while Chelsea Sawyer is 4-0 at No. 6 singles.
Tennessee is 0-2 against nationally-ranked doubles tandems this season.
Last season, the Vols sent Brittany Lindl to the NCAA Singles Championship, but she was eliminated in the first round. The team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, defeating Winthrop, 4-1, but falling to Duke.

SCOUTING NO. 8 GEORGIA

The Bulldogs are 8-2 overall this season, including a 3-0 record in the SEC and a 5-1 record at home.
Ranked in singles: Katarina Jokic (2), Kennedy Shaffer (59), Morgan Coppoc (93), Marta Gonzalez (100), Mariana Gould (125)
Ranked in doubles: Elena Christofi and Morgan Coppoc (10), Katarina Jokic and Mariana Gould (12)
Mariana Gould and Katarina Jokic are 6-0 and 7-0 in singles this season, respectively. Gould has only played in the bottom half of the lineup, while Jokic is 7-0 at No. 1 singles and is 12-2 against nationally ranked opponents in 2017-18.
In doubles, Gould and Jokic are 9-1 when paired together in dual match play, going 6-1 at No. 2 doubles and 3-0 at No. 3 doubles.
Both of Georgia’s losses this season came against ranked opponents. The Bulldogs fell to No. 9 Duke at ITA Indoors on Feb. 10 and at No. 12 Georgia Tech on Feb. 23.
Last season, Georgia finished the year at 19-6 overall with an 11-2 record in the SEC. The team finished the season ranked No. 6 by the ITA and advanced to the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Team Championships, where it was defeated by Pepperdine.
Georgia’s roster is composed of four freshmen, two sophomores and three seniors.
Head Coach Jeff Wallace, who is in his 33rd season with the Bulldogs, is the nation’s winningest active women’s tennis coach. Under Wallace’s leadership, Georgia has advanced to 31 consecutive NCAA Tournaments with two NCAA titles and 11 NCAA “Final Fours.” Wallace is one of three coaches in women’s tennis history who has amassed 600 career wins.
Last season, the Bulldogs sent Kennedy Shaffer, Elena Christofi and Ellen Perez to the NCAA Singles Championship, which they hosted at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. They sent two doubles teams — Elena Christofi and Kennedy Shaffer and Caroline Brinson and Ellen Perez to the NCAA Doubles Championships.
UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

The Gamecocks will travel to Auburn on March 22 and Alabama on March 24 for their last away matches of the regular season. The team is 27-9 all-time against the Tigers, but lost the past three meetings with the team. The last time the Gamecocks defeated Auburn was on Feb. 27, 2015, at the Carolina Tennis Center. Their last road win against Auburn was on April 1, 2012. South Carolina holds a 16-12 all-time record against the Tide, including a two-match winning streak dating back to April 10, 2016. The Gamecocks will return to the Carolina Tennis Center on March 29 when they open a five-match SEC home stand against Missouri.

For updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).