Gamecocks' ITA Kick-Off Weekend Opponents Set
June 7, 2018
2019 ITA Kick-Off Weekend
COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 12 South Carolina women’s tennis will host No. 27 Wake Forest, No. 36 Arizona State and No. 52 California in the 2019 ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the Carolina Tennis Center, it was announced Thursday.
The Gamecocks will face the four-seeded California Bears in the first round of the tournament, while two-seeded Wake Forest and three-seeded Arizona State will face off in the first round at the Carolina Tennis Center. The winner of those two matches will face in the second round Championship Match to determine which team will advance to the ITA Indoor National Championships. The teams that lose the opening round match will play in a consolation match.
South Carolina is 0-2 in the all-time series with California, last playing the Bears in 1987 and 1986. The Gamecocks are 12-9 against Wake Forest and hold a three-match winning streak over the Demon Deacons dating back to 2009. Conversely, they are 0-4 all-time against Arizona State, losing the last matchup between both teams in 2017.
This marks the second straight season South Carolina will host ITA Kick-Off Weekend. In 2018, the Gamecocks hosted the event for the first time in program history. The Gamecocks defeated Oklahoma, 4-0, and Clemson, 4-1, to advance to ITA National Indoor Championships for the first time in the event’s current format, which started in 2009.
Host sites for the ITA Kick-Off Weekend were determined using the final 2017-18 Oracle ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. The Gamecocks’ No. 12 national ranking marks their highest final ranking since the 1999 season when they were ranked at No. 12. It is the second-highest final ranking in program history behind the 1995 season when the team was ranked at No. 11.
The 2019 event marks the eighth time in program history the Gamecocks will play in the ITA Kick-Off and the second time the team will host the event as the top seed. In all other appearances, the Gamecocks were the No. 2 seed, including appearances the 2017 Texas Tech Regional, the 2013 Michigan Regional, the 2012 Georgia Tech Regional, the 2011 Miami (Florida) Regional, the 2010 Arkansas Regional and the 2009 Duke Regional.
For updates on the Gamecocks, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).
