No. 4 Gamecocks Set for a Pair of Ranked SEC Foes
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina women’s tennis team, fresh off of a program-high ranking at No. 4, hits the road for two Southeastern Conference (SEC) matches on Friday and Sunday.
Up first, the No. 4-ranked Gamecocks (12-3, 7-1) take on No. 12 Texas A&M (18-3, 6-2) at 6 p.m. ET on Friday. Next, Carolina sees No. 23 LSU (14-6, 4-4) on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
South Carolina
The Gamecocks enter the duals having won two-straight after topping No. 5 Vanderbilt, 4-0, and No. 23 Kentucky, 4-3. Carolina’s blanking of the Commodores snapped a three-match losing streak against the program.
No. 37-ranked Paige Cline has recently upset both the No. 16 and No. 13 players in the nation. First, the senior downed Georgia’s No. 16 Marta Gonzalez in straight sets, 6-0, 7-5. Against Vanderbilt, Cline defeated No. 13 Christina Rosca, 6-2, 7-6 (4), clinching the match for her team. Playing at the No. 2 position, Cline is 7-3 in dual matches, 16-6 overall and on a four-match win streak.
In doubles, No. 1-ranked Ingrid Gamarra Martins and Mia Horvit own a 9-2 record at the top spot for South Carolina. Overall, the tandem is 19-4 on the season and 7-4 against nationally-ranked opponents.
Texas A&M
Carolina leads the series with the Aggies, 9-5 and has won the past two matchups between the programs.
Texas A&M has claimed four matches in-a-row, earning victories against No. 4 Vanderbilt (4-2), No. 21 Kentucky (4-1), Missouri (5-0) and No. 46 Arkansas (4-3).
No. 50 Katya Townsend and No. 106 Jayci Goldsmith split time at the No. 1 and 2 positions for the Aggies. Townsend is undefeated on court two, 7-0, and sits at 6-4 when in the one slot. On the other hand, Goldsmith has not been beat at the No. 1 position at 7-0, but is 6-5 on court two.
Teaming up in doubles, Goldsmith and Tatiana Makarova are the No. 63-ranked doubles team in the nation and have a 12-5 record at the No. 1 spot for the Aggies.
LSU
In the all-time series, the Gamecocks lead, 23-6, and topped the Tigers, 4-1, in their most recent meeting last season.
LSU heads into the weekend having defeated No. 46 Arkansas, 4-3, and Missouri, 4-0. Prior to their Sunday matchup with Carolina, the Tigers host No. 31 Florida on Friday.
In singles, No. 10-ranked Eden Richardson competes at the No. 1 position for LSU and is 11-4 in dual matches. Also holding an 11-4 mark, No. 60 Jessica Golovin has tallied the record playing on court two.
Paired together in doubles, No. 10 Richardson and Golovin are 12-3 at the No. 1 spot for the Tigers.
Live video and live scoring are available for both matches and can be found on gamecocksonline.com on the women’s tennis schedule page.
Continue to check back with gamecocksonline.com for more updates or follow the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).
