Women's Tennis . April 3, 2018

Women's Tennis Earns Highest Ranking In Program History

April 3, 2018

South Carolina Women’s Tennis

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina women’s tennis (18-3, 10-0 SEC) earned the highest team ranking in program history in the latest Oracle/ITA national polls, it was announced Tuesday.

The Gamecocks are ranked at No. 5 in the nation with 59.74 average points after a historic 10-0 start to SEC play. The Gamecocks moved up one spot after garnering a No. 6 ranking last week, which tied the highest ranking in program history when the team was ranked No. 6 in 1982-83.

South Carolina owns a 13-match winning streak dating back to Feb. 24 and is in sole possession of first place in the SEC. The streak is the second-longest for the Gamecocks in program history, with the first being the team’s 22-match winning streak in 1979-1980. The Gamecocks also went undefeated in the month of March for the first time since the 1979-80 season.

South Carolina is 8-2 against ranked opponents this season, including wins against No. 7 Ole Miss, No. 11 Texas, No. 35 Texas A&M, No. 36 LSU, No. 30 Tennessee, No. 8 Georgia, No. 15 Auburn and No. 48 Arkansas. The Gamecocks hold a seven-match winning streak against ranked opponents dating back to March 3 at Ole Miss.

This past weekend, the Gamecocks returned home to the Carolina Tennis Center after completing a perfect 6-0 SEC road slate for the first time in program history. They notched two sweeps over Missouri on Thursday and No. 48 Arkansas on Saturday. The team has totaled nine sweeps this season: Oklahoma, Clemson, North Florida, Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, No. 7 Ole Miss, No. 35 Texas A&M, Missouri and No. 48 Arkansas.

South Carolina is one of 11 SEC teams ranked in the Top 50 this week, trailing just Vanderbilt, which is ranked at No. 2 in the nation. The Gamecocks host the Commodores at 5:30 p.m. on April 12 at the Carolina Tennis Center.

In addition to the team ranking, the Gamecocks have three players ranked in the national singles rankings: Hadley Berg (31), Ingrid Gamarra Martins (60) and Megan Davies (120). In doubles, the Gamecocks have three ranked tandems: Megan Davies and Silvia Chinellato (65), Paige Cline and Ingrid Gamarra Martins (76) and Paige Cline and Hadley Berg (79).

This week, Head Coach Kevin Epley and the Gamecocks are back in action against No. 12 Florida at the Carolina Tennis Center at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Gamecocks are 10-0 at home this season and 4-0 in SEC play at home. Florida is tied with Vanderbilt for second in the SEC, while South Carolina is looking to win its first SEC regular season championship in program history.

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