No. 10 Carolina Begins SEC Play at Home
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina women’s tennis team kicks off SEC play by hosting Mississippi State and Ole Miss on Friday at 5 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m., respectively, at the Carolina Tennis Center.
After a two-week hiatus from competition due to being off and then inclement weather, the No. 10 Gamecocks (5-2, 0-0 SEC) are anxious to get back on the courts.
“We train all year with the SEC season in our sites and we are fired up for the 2019 campaign,” head coach Kevin Epley said. “Mississippi State and Ole Miss are great teams that always challenge us to bring out our best. We are looking forward to kicking the season off against quality opponents.”
Carolina junior Silvia Chinellato brings a seven-match win streak to the weekend. Chinellato is undefeated in dual matches, 4-0, at the No. 5 position and is 9-3 overall. Also on a hot streak, No. 10 senior Ingrid Gamarra Martins has won three-straight at the top spot for the Gamecocks. Gamarra Martins holds an overall mark of 15-5, including 3-1 in duals.
In doubles, No. 2-ranked Gamarra Martins and junior Mia Horvit have tallied an impressive overall record of 14-3, including a winning mark against nationally ranked opponents, 4-3. Playing at the No. 1 position for Carolina, the tandem owns a record of 4-1.
Teaming up just four matches ago, senior Paige Cline and Chinellato are undefeated at 4-0. The duo has seen time at both the No. 2 and 3 spots, going 1-0 and 3-0, respectively.
South Carolina leads the all-time series with Mississippi State (9-3, 0-0 SEC), 29-2, including victories in the last three matches. The two programs kicked off SEC play last season as well, ending in a, 4-2, Carolina win in Starkville, Miss.
The Bulldogs’ No. 104 Emma Antonaki comes in on a nine-match win steak. Antonaki plays primarily at the No. 2 position for Mississippi State, where she is undefeated, 9-0. No. 89 Magda Adaloglou sits at 8-3 overall for the Bulldogs, including a 6-3 mark at the No. 1 spot. Teaming up with Anastasia Rentouli, Antonaki and her partner have won six-consecutive matches. The Bulldog team sees most of their playing time at the No. 2 position and have amassed a 7-1 record in duals.
Carolina also leads the series with Ole Miss (3-3, 0-0 SEC), 21-15. The Gamecocks have won six-straight against the Rebels, blanking Ole Miss in their last win, 4-0, in Oxford, Miss. Competing at the No. 2 position for the Rebels, Tea Jandric brings a three-match win streak and a 3-1 dual-match mark to Sunday’s matchup.
Both live scoring and live streaming are available for the matches and can be found on the tennis schedule on gamecocksonline.com.
Admission is free to fans and the first 80 in attendance at both matches will receive free pizza.
Continue to check back with gamecocksonline.com for more updates or follow the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).
