No. 10 Gamecocks Set To Host NCAA Regionals
May 1, 2018
2018 NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament
- Bracket
- Tournament Central
- Season Schedule
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s tennis (19-6, 11-2 SEC) received the No. 10 seed and will host the Columbia Regional of the 2018 NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament, the NCAA announced Tuesday.
The Gamecocks will face Quinnipiac in the Round of 64 on May 11 at a time to be determined. The Gamecocks also welcome VCU and Virginia to the Carolina Tennis Center. The winners of both matches will face in the Round of 32 on Saturday at a time to be determined.
“We play Quinnipiac in the first round and if we get through the first round, it’ll be a good opportunity to face a solid ACC program that has always finished well,” head coach Kevin Epley said. “We’re happy we’re hosting and we’re happy with the bracket we’re in. Should be some competitive tennis.”
The No. 10 seed marks the highest in school history since the championship switched to the current 64-team format beginning with the 1999 season. South Carolina was the No. 14 seed in 1999, No. 12 in 2002, No. 13 in 2016 and No. 14 last season.
South Carolina will host the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight year and sixth time overall. The first time the Gamecocks hosted the tournament was in 1996 followed by 1999 and 2002, before starting their current streak in 2016.
South Carolina’s streak of 24 consecutive NCAA appearances is tied for the ninth longest active streak in the country with Vanderbilt.
The Gamecocks have tallied 27 overall NCAA appearances in program history, which rank as the 13th most in the nation. South Carolina’s 27 all-time wins in the NCAA Tournament rank 20th in the country.
Epley has led his teams to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first 14 years as a head coach (three at Fresno State, five at William & Mary, six at South Carolina). He owns a 13-13 record in NCAA play with a pair of Sweet 16 appearances in 2007 and 2017. Epley’s teams have won at least one round 11 times in his previous 13 postseason bids.
South Carolina is listed at No. 10 in the latest Oracle/ ITA rankings and finished tied for second in the SEC — tied for the best finish in league play in program history.
“It’s all about taking it one round at a time,” Epley said. “It really is. Any coach will tell you. There were matches that we won this year because we were in the right frame of mind. There were a couple matches we lost because we were in the wrong frame of mind. It was more about us than our opponent sometimes. When you get to the NCAA Tournament, you’ve really got to be able to play every single match.”
The NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles & Doubles Championship qualifiers will be announced Wednesday.
Tickets for the NCAA Tournament matches at the Carolina Tennis Center are $5 for general admission and $3 for students with a valid Carolina Card.
For updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).
