Women's Tennis . January 19, 2021

South Carolina Hosts No. 8 NC State on Wednesday

Gamecocks and Wolfpack Play at 1 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 faces a tough test Wednesday when it takes on No. 8 NC State at 1 p.m. at Carolina Tennis Center. The Wolfpack have played in two tournaments thus far in 2021, and the Gamecocks mark their first dual match opponent of the season.

Last Time Out

South Carolina opened the 2021 season Saturday hosting a doubleheader against ETSU and Coastal Carolina, winning both matches by scores of 6-1 and 5-2.

The Gamecocks swept the doubles against ETSU thanks to the teams of Mia Horvit/Silvia Chinellato at one, Emma Shelton/Allie Gretkowski at two, and Ana Cruz/Elise Mills at three. In singles, Gretkowski was first off the court with a 6-2, 6-2 win at the No. 5 spot, followed by Shelton at the second spot with her come-from-behind victory after losing the first set. Horvit provided the clinching point at No. 1 singles, and Cruz and Chinellato added the Gamecocks’ other two points.

South Carolina used the same two doubles tandems on courts one and two versus Coastal Carolina, but switched up the three spot by pairing Cruz with Gabriela Martinez. South Carolina once again swept all three of the doubles contests and then grabbed four of six in singles play. Horvit was first off the court in singles and Gretkowski was close behind, giving both players 4-0 records on the day. Eventually, Martinez came through by securing the win at six singles in straight sets. Cruz finished off the evening with a win at five to give her a 4-0 record as well.

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 289-125 mark in 17 seasons as a head coach at three schools. Epley has amassed a 138-66 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.
Mia Horvit is closing in on history this spring, looking to join the 100-win club in singles. She currently owns an 90-38 record in singles and is in ninth place all-time. She needs just two more to tie Brigit Folland (2013-17) for eighth place. 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 (1998-02) at 103.
Emma Shelton and newcomer Allie Gretkowski made a strong statement in doubles together in the Gamecocks’ opening weekend of play against ETSU and Coastal Carolina. The duo posted a pair of 6-0 victories in helping the Gamecocks win the doubles point in both matches playing at the No. 2 spot.
Three Gamecocks posted 4-0 records for the season-opening double header against ETSU and Coastal Carolina. Mia Horvit played the No. 1 spot in both singles and doubles in going undefeated, while Allie Gretkowski played on court two for doubles and positions four and five in singles. Ana Cruz played three doubles in both matches, one with Elise Mills and the other with Gabriela Martinez, and then five and six for singles.
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.
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 NC State

The Wolfpack have been a program on the rise the past few years. NC State boasts five players in the first edition of the Oracle ITA Rankings this spring, including the nation’s No. 2-ranked tandem of Anna Rogers and Alana Smith. Last season, NC State was sitting at 18-3 when the season was cut short and the Wolfpack were ranked No. 7 in the nation. NC State has played in a couple of tournaments in 2021 at Duke and North Carolina. In her most recent outing, Rogers picked up her 100th career singles victory, joining teammate Adriana Reami as just the second player in program history to reach the mark. Rogers is the first player in NC State women’s tennis history to reach the century mark in both singles and doubles. Rogers boasts the team’s top singles record so far with a 5-0 mark in 2021. Reami and Jaeda Daniel have an 8-1 record playing doubles together.

The NC State Series

South Carolina leads the all-time series with NC State by a 13-2 margin. The Wolfpack, though, did take a 6-1 victory over the Gamecocks last season when South Carolina opened the year in Raleigh, N.C. The Gamecocks’ other loss to NC State came in 2007, also in Raleigh by the same score. The two teams have not played a match in Columbia, S.C., since 2003 when Carolina won 6-1. The Gamecocks claimed the first 12 matches in the series dating back to 1977 before losing in 2007. South Carolina sports an 8-0 record against NC State in Columbia.