Gamecock Tennis to Compete at Australian Open 2019
TEMPE, Ariz. – The South Carolina men’s and women’s tennis teams head to Melbourne, Australia to compete in the first-ever dual matches at the Australian Open 2019 as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) and Tennis Australia Tuesday afternoon.
The Gamecocks will be joined by Southern California for both exhibition and regular-season matches, marking the inaugural contests to take place on location during one of the four professional Grand Slam events.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to represent the University of South Carolina and college tennis when we head out to Australia in January,” women’s head coach Kevin Epley said. “College tennis is getting more and more traction around the world these days as some of our best players are competing, and succeeding, at the professional level. It will be an awesome experience for all the teams to showcase our sport at a world class venue in another country.”
First, Carolina takes the court opposite of the Tennis Australia National Academy players in exhibition singles and doubles on Jan. 21. South Carolina and USC close out the trip in a regular-season dual match on Jan. 22, that will count towards both teams’ Oracle ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings and overall won-loss record for the 2019 season.
The women’s programs have only faced off once, with Southern California coming out on top in the 1982 season. For the men, USC and the Gamecocks will see each other for the first time since playing twice in 1990, splitting the matches, 1-1. Overall, the Trojans lead Carolina, 3-1.
South Carolina brings five ranked singles players in No. 7 Jubb, No. 12 Gamarra Martins, No. 25 Cline, No. 69 Horvit and No 72 Joseph Brailovsky. The Gamecocks also have three doubles teams ranked, including No. 11 Gamarra Martins and Horvit, No. 23 Rohrabacher and Davies, and No. T59 Gamarra Martins and Silvia Chinellato.
“We are honored and thankful that the ITA has chosen our men’s and women’s program to represent college tennis at such a prestigious event,” men’s head coach Josh Goffi said. “All of our student-athletes have grown up watching all of the Grand Slams and have dreamed of playing in them. To be able to play in Melbourne Park during the Australian Open is a dream come true for everyone involved. Our guys are still in disbelief, but are counting down the days until we leave.”
Both the men’s and women’s teams saw successful fall seasons. Then-ranked No. 27 junior Paul Jubb won seven-straight singles matches, claiming the ITA Carolina Regional Championship in October. On the women’s side, senior Rachel Rohrabacher and sophomore Megan Davies advanced to the doubles finals at the tournament, defeating the No. 5-ranked tandem in the country. Senior and No. 45 Ingrid Gamarra Martins represented Carolina in the women’s finals, earning an automatic bid to the ITA National Fall Championships.
At the ITA National Fall Championships, Jubb competed through the quarterfinals at the tournament, while No. 20-ranked Gamarra Martins and junior Mia Horvit advanced, but fell, in the semifinal round.
Many other Gamecocks claimed titles throughout the fall at various tournaments. Senior Paige Cline claimed the Flight 2 Singles Champion title at the Debbie Southern Fall Classic, while Horvit was victorious in Flight 3. Gamarra Martins and Horvit made the total three for Carolina at the tournament after taking the Flight 1 Doubles title. Cline also placed third at the Kitty Harrison Invitational.
Freshman Patrick Cacciatore began his fall season by winning five-straight matches and capturing the Gamecock Invite B-flight singles championship. At the Georgia Tech Invitational, freshman Raphael Lambling claimed the Olde Gold Main Draw title, while freshman Jake Beasley won his bracket, the White Main Draw.
“We will certainly work as hard as we can to prepare and look forward to some good Melbourne summer fun, watching the Australian Open and competing against both USC and the Australian national team,” stated Epley. “We really couldn’t ask for a better way to kick off our 2019 campaign.”
The men’s program boasts a young roster for the 2018-19 season, consisting of six freshman and just three upperclassmen. The Gamecocks finished a combined 96-41 (.701) in singles matches and 25-19 (.568) in doubles matches throughout the fall tournament slate.
On the women’s side, Epley returned a veteran team that opened the 2018-19 season by going 46-25 (.648) in singles and 23-15 (.605) in doubles. Carolina also went 16-11 (.593) against national ranked opponents in singles and 6-4 (.600) opposite of doubles ranked opponents.
Check back with gamecocksonline.com for more information on Carolina’s trip to the Australian Open.
