Women's Tennis . January 15, 2021

Gamecocks Open 2021 Hosting Doubleheader on Saturday

South Carolina Faces ETSU at 11 a.m., Coastal Carolina at 3 p.m.

Attention Fans

The Gamecocks will be following strict guidelines with adherence to the SEC Medical Guidance Task Force Requirements for COVID-19 Management. Attendance at South Carolina women’s tennis matches this spring is restricted to PASS LIST ONLY for home matches at Carolina Tennis Center. We encourage fans to follow the matches via our live scoring and live video links as well as our social media platforms.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The 14th-ranked South Carolina women’s tennis team opens its 2021 spring campaign Saturday hosting a doubleheader against ETSU and Coastal Carolina. The Gamecocks face the Bucs first at 11 a.m. followed by the Chanticleers at 3 p.m. at Carolina Tennis Center.

Last Time Out

South Carolina competed in two events during in back-to-back weeks in October, first at the UT Fall Invite in Knoxville, Tenn., and then the Bulldog Invitational in Athens, Ga. Megan Davies and Mia Horvit each won two of three matches during the Gamecocks’ first weekend of play in Tennessee. The duo also teamed up to go 2-1 in doubles competition during the weekend.

Silvia Chinellato and Emma Shelton were South Carolina’s top performers in Georgia. After losing their singles matches and one doubles match together on the first day, they rebounded with unbeaten records the next two to finish the weekend with a 2-1 record in doubles and each had 2-1 marks for singles.

Gamecock Notables

Head coach Kevin Epley is in his ninth season with the Gamecocks and will look to record his 300th career win this season. Epley enters the spring with a 287-125 mark in 15 seasons as a head coach at three schools. Epley has amassed a 136-66 record as South Carolina’s head coach and boasts an impressive 62-33 record in regular-season SEC play. He led the Gamecocks to their first SEC title in 2019 when South Carolina captured the SEC Tournament after finishing the regular season with a 12-1 record.
The Gamecocks ended the 2020 season riding a five-match winning streak that saw their overall record move to 8-4. They began SEC play with a 4-0 record after wins against Auburn, Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU. Georgia was the only other undefeated team in league play with a 3-0 record when the season was lost due to the pandemic.
Both Mia Horvit and Silvia Chinellato elected to use the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA to play one more season after their senior years were cut short by COVID-19. Horvit is a two-time All-American and has been a member of the All-SEC Team three years in a row. She was named the UTR/ITA National Player of the Week just days before the 2020 season was postponed and later canceled. Chinellato was off to a hot start in SEC play last season with a 4-0 singles record and a 3-1 mark for doubles. She was ranked as high as No. 12 in the nation for doubles alongside Emma Shelton last spring.
Mia Horvit is closing in on history this spring, looking to join the 100-win club in singles. She currently owns an 88-38 record in singles and is tied for 10th all-time with Sophie Ljucovic (1993-97). Only three Gamecocks have reached 100 victories with Rita Winebarger (1984-88) leading the way at 127 followed by Ana Marija Zubori (2006-10) with 109 and Lynn-Yin Tan at 103.
Sophomore Emma Shelton had a sizzling freshman campaign that saw her post an 11-0 singles record in the spring before the season was canceled. Despite the shortened season, she was still rewarded for her efforts by earning ITA Carolina Region Rookie of the Year. Shelton became the third Gamecock to win the region’s Rookie of the Year accolade and first since Gira Schofield in 2006. Katarina Markovski was the first in 1999.
South Carolina has a new addition to its roster this spring with freshman Allie Gretkowski who signed with the Gamecocks in November after graduating from high school last May. Gretkowski was regarded as the top prospect in the Palmetto State and ranked among the top 15 players in the country by TennisRecruiting.net.
Since the SEC began crowning a regular-season and tournament champion in 2000, only four teams have won the SEC Tournament. South Carolina became the fourth in 2019, joining Florida, Georgia and Vanderbilt as the only teams to win the event.
South Carolina has won 20 or more matches each of the past three full seasons, a first in school history. In total, the Gamecocks won 64 matches from 2017 to 2019.
Consistency is the name of the game, and South Carolina has certainly been one of the most consistent programs in the country for decades. Currently, the Gamecocks have made the NCAA Tournament 25 seasons in a row. Overall, South Carolina has competed in 29 of the 38 all-time NCAA Tournaments, advancing to the quarterfinals three times (1982, 2009, 2019) and the round of 16 nine times (1982, 1983, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2009, 2017, 2018, 2019). Carolina has also finished the season ranked among the top-25 a total of 25 times.

About ETSU

Ricky Rojas enters his third year as the head coach for ETSU after spending the previous nine years as the men’s tennis assistant coach. ETSU concluded the 2020 season on a six-match win streak, including going 2-0 in SoCon play. Prior to the season being shortened due to COVID-19, ETSU recorded its highest ranked win in program history, a 4-0 sweep over No. 49 Appalachian State. Andrea Pascual-Larrinaga led the team in victories for dual matches last season with an 11-2 record at the No. 3 spot, while Laylo Bakhodirova and Alejandra Morales posted the top mark in doubles at 6-4 with all of their matches coming at the top position.

The ETSU Series

South Carolina and ETSU have only met two times prior to Saturday. The Gamecocks lead the series 2-0 and last faced the Bucs when they opened the 2014 season with a win against an injury-riddled ETSU squad that had to forfeit the doubles point and three singles matches. South Carolina also beat ETSU by a 6-1 margin in 2007.

About Coastal Carolina

Coastal Carolina is led by head coach Catherine Hewitt, who played for the Gamecocks from 1999 to 2003. Hewitt is in her 10th season as the Chants’ head coach and owns a 131-62 record with the program. CCU finished the 2020 season with a 6-3 record and a four-match winning streak. The Chants combined to post a 32-17 dual match record in singles play over the nine matches led by Flaminia Scara’s team-high seven individual wins, just one ahead of Valentina Urelli’s total. In doubles action, the team of Jessie Mount and Somer Dalla-Bona led the way at 6-1 at the No. 1 doubles spot.

The Coastal Carolina Series

Saturday marks the sixth meeting between Coastal Carolina and South Carolina with the Gamecocks leading 5-0. The two teams first met in 1991 and did not play again until 2016. South Carolina beat the Chants last season 6-1 in Columbia.