Women's Tennis . April 11, 2018

No. 7 South Carolina To Host Last Regular Season Matches

April 11, 2018

No. 3 Vanderbilt & No. 23 Kentucky at No. 7 South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 7 South Carolina women’s tennis (18-4, 10-1 SEC) will host two Top-25 SEC opponents in its last two matches of the regular season on Thursday and Saturday at the Carolina Tennis Center.

The Gamecocks will host No. 3 Vanderbilt at 5 p.m. on Thursday with a share of the SEC regular season title on the line. At 10-1 in SEC play, the Gamecocks are tied with Vanderbilt and Florida for first in the league, with the Gators and Commodores meeting in the last match of the regular season.

The Gamecocks will also host No. 23 Kentucky at 1 p.m. on Saturday. If South Carolina wins both matches against Vanderbilt and Kentucky, it is guaranteed a share of the SEC regular season championship.

The Gamecocks are 13-22 all-time against Vanderbilt and lost the last two matchups with the Commodores in 2017. The Gamecocks won the last meeting between the teams at the Carolina Tennis Center, 4-3, on March 10, 2016. Against Kentucky, South Carolina holds a 23-15 all-time series advantage and a five-match winning streak dating back to April 11, 2014.

A free grilled cheese bar will be available for the first 150 fans at Thursday’s match and free ice cream in souvenir cups will be available during Saturday’s match. Saturday’s match will also include a Senior Day ceremony for Hadley Berg. The ceremony will start 20 minutes prior to match time at 12:40 p.m. Saturday’s match will have a ‘block party’ theme, including free food and games.

QUOTABLE

“They certainly don’t get any easier in the SEC. We’ve got another tough match against a solid Top-10 team. We are going to look to improve in a couple areas that we felt needed to be addressed after the Florida match and get back at it. We know Vanderbilt is not going to take us lightly, so we are going to bring everything we have on Thursday.” — Head Coach Kevin Epley

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

The Gamecocks are ranked No. 7 by Oracle and the ITA, it was announced April 10. The team’s No. 5 ranking last week was the highest team ranking in program history. The team finished the 1982-83 season ranked at No. 6 after achieving a 22-5 overall record.
South Carolina’s 10 wins in SEC play are the most for the Gamecocks in program history. The 1995-96 team set the previous record of nine that was equaled by the 2015-16 squad.
The Gamecocks have won nine doubles points in 10 SEC matches this season. Their sole loss in doubles came against Georgia on March 18. The team did not play doubles in its loss to Florida due to impending rain in the forecast.
In doubles, Gamarra Martins and Horvit have won four straight matches and lead the team at 8-1 in SEC play.
With 96 career singles wins, Berg is tied with Natasa Vuckovic for fifth on the South Carolina career singles wins list.
This season marks the first time in program history the Gamecocks have ever opened SEC play at 10-0 and is the first time South Carolina went undefeated in SEC road play. The previous best start was 6-0 in 2015-16.
The Gamecocks have amassed 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 8-3 against ranked opponents this season, including wins at 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’ seven-match winning streak against ranked opponents was snapped against Florida on April 7.
The Gamecocks are 10-1 at home this season and 4-1 in SEC play at home.
The Gamecocks went undefeated in the month of March for the first time since the 1979-80 season.
Paige Cline holds a six-match win streak in SEC play dating back to her win over Alexa Bortles at No. 7 Ole Miss on March 3.
Ranked in singles: Hadley Berg (32), Ingrid Gamarra Martins (58)
Ranked in doubles: Hadley Berg/Paige Cline (55), Megan Davies/Silvia Chinellato (72), Paige Cline/Ingrid Gamarra Martins (86)
South Carolina is one of seven SEC schools in the Top 25 team rankings announced on April 10. In the league, the Gamecocks trail just Vanderbilt and Ole Miss, which rank at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively.
The Gamecocks’ 13-match winning streak from Feb. 24 to March 31 was the second-longest in program history behind the 1980 team’s 22-match win streak.
The team’s 10-match SEC winning streak from March 1 to March 31 was also the longest in program history by four matches with the previous longest streak being six matches.
Rachel Rohrabacher is 11-1 in 2018 singles play. While her 12-match winning streak snapped against Katie Kubicz of Florida, the junior has been a consistent point for the Gamecocks at No. 6 singles and is 9-1 over her last 10 matches.

SCOUTING NO. 3 VANDERBILT

Vanderbilt is tied with No. 7 South Carolina and No. 10 Florida for first place in the SEC. The team lost its lone SEC match at Mississippi State on March 15.
Vanderbilt’s highest team ranking this season was No. 2 from Jan. 3 to Feb. 7, on March 13 and from March 27 to April 3. The team has been ranked in the Top 5 every week this season except Feb. 20 when it was ranked No. 7.
Ranked in singles: Fernanda Contreras (6), Astra Sharma (8), Christina Rosca (50)
Ranked in doubles: Fernanda Contreras/Astra Sharma (19), Christina Rosca/Emma Kurtz (20), Emily Smith/Emma Kurtz (71)
The Commodores are currently on a six-match winning streak dating back to their loss at Mississippi State on March 15.
Of Vanderbilt’s 17 wins this season, seven have been sweeps.
Vanderbilt is 11-0 at home this season and 4-2 on the road. Its two road losses came at Northwestern on Feb. 23 and at Mississippi State on March 15. Its third loss this season was against Pepperdine in the ITA Indoor Championships Semi-Finals in Madison, Wis.
Vanderbilt’s roster is composed of two seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen.
Head Coach Geoff Macdonald is Vanderbilt’s longest- tenured coach and is in his 24th season with the team.
Last season, Vanderbilt finished SEC play at 12-1, winning the regular season title. The team also won the SEC Championships, defeating No. 1 Florida, 4-3.
The Commodores advanced to the Final Four of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, falling to Florida to end their historic season.
Last season, Sydney Campbell advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Singles Championship.

SCOUTING NO. 23 KENTUCKY

Ranked in singles: AkvilÃ„- Para?inskaitÃ„- (77), Justina Mikulskyte (87)
Ranked in doubles: Mami Adachi/Emily Fanning (47), Lesedi Jacobs/Emily Fanning (67)
Kentucky’s roster is composed of two seniors, four juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen.
Kentucky is 14-7 overall this season with a 6-5 record in conference play. Its five SEC losses came against Auburn at home, at Ole Miss, at Mississippi State, at Georgia and at Vanderbilt.
Kentucky defeated LSU and Texas A&M, 4-1, in its last two matches on April 5 and April 7, respectively.
Kentucky’s highest team ranking this season was No. 15 on Feb. 27.
The Wildcats will take on No. 10 Florida on April 12 before traveling to Columbia to take on No. 7 South Carolina.
The Wildcats are 4-4 on the road this season.
Last season, Kentucky went 17-9 overall with a 7-6 record in league play.
The Wildcats did not advance to the ITA Indoor Championships this season, losing to Northwestern in the first match of ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Jan. 26 at home.
In 2017, the Wildcats finished fourth in the SEC, marking their first Top-5 finish in the league since 2006.
Last season, Kentucky advanced to the second round of the NCAA Team Tournament with a 4-2 win over Dartmouth in the first round. The Wildcats fell to Michigan in the second round.
.Kentucky is coached by Carlos Drada, a former Wildcats men’s tennis player, who is in his 13th season with the team and 17th at Kentucky.

SENIOR DAY NOTES

Hadley Berg is the sole senior on the South Carolina women’s tennis team.
Berg’s Senior Day Ceremony will begin 20 minutes prior to Saturday’s match time at 12:40 p.m. ET.
Berg is tied with Natasa Vuckovic for fifth on the career singles wins list with 96.
Berg started the 2017 spring with an 18-match win streak, the longest dual-match win streak to start a season in program history.
Berg’s highest career singles ranking is No. 29 as of March 6, 2018.
Berg ranks fifth in season singles wins (2016, 2017), fourth in season doubles wins (2017), eighth in career singles win percentage (2015-17) and fourth in season combined wins (2016).
In 2017, Berg led the team in every major category with 29 singles wins, 18 doubles wins and 12 doubles team wins with Paige Cline.
In 2016, Berg finished No. 20 in doubles rankings with Cline, South Carolina’s third-highest final doubles ranking ever, after a 14-8 season that featured seven wins over nationally ranked opponents.
Berg’s 22-6 singles record this season has her at 96-33 overall, four wins shy of 100 on her career, with a winning percentage of .744 that ranks seventh in school history. She is looking to become just the fourth player in school history with 100 wins.
During her sophomore campaign in 2016, Berg became the first Gamecock to earn All-America status since 1994. She and doubles partner Cline became the fourth and fifth All-Americans overall.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

The Gamecocks will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for the 2018 SEC Tournament, hosted by the University of Tennessee. With its guaranteed Top-4 finish in the league, South Carolina has earned a first and second round bye in the SEC Tournament. The tournament bracket will be released on April 15.

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