Women's Tennis . February 25, 2021

South Carolina Faces Off With No. 22 Texas A&M, No. 19 LSU

Gamecocks Look to Use Momentum From Alabama Win

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 South Carolina women’s tennis team is ready to host its first SEC matches of 2021 with No. 22 Texas A&M on Friday at 9 a.m. and No. 19 LSU on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Gamecocks bring a 4-5 overall record into the matches and are 1-1 in league play after last weekend. The Aggies are 8-2 and were unable to compete in the opening weekend of SEC play due to the SEC’s COVID-19 management requirements, while LSU is 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the conference.

Last Time Out

The Gamecocks snapped a three-match losing streak with a 4-2 win at Alabama in their last match. In doubles, South Carolina began with 2-0 leads on all three courts, and it was Carolina’s No. 29-ranked duo of Megan Davies and Mia Horvit who finished first by a 6-1 score over Moka Ito and Sydney Riley on court one. About five minutes later, South Carolina had the 1-0 lead heading to singles play thanks to Allie Gretkowski and Ana Cruz on court three. The duo took down Anna Parkomenko and Anne Marie Hiser 6-1 to improve to 4-0 this spring at No. 3 doubles.

Gretkowski pushed the Gamecocks’ lead to 2-0 with a straight set victory over Hiser on court five 6-4, 6-3 to pick up her first career SEC singles win. Alabama then answered back with wins on courts four and six to tie the match up at 2-all. After Horvit faltered 6-3 to Ito in the first set at No. 1 singles, she coasted through the second to a 6-2 win. In the third, Ito got the 1-0 lead to begin, but it was all Horvit from there, as she won six of the next seven games to close out a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 triumph and pulled South Carolina within a point of clinching the win.

As Horvit finished her contest, Davies and Sasha Gorchanyuk were just beginning a tiebreak for the second set on court two after Davies won the first set 6-2. In the tiebreak, Davies trailed 4-3 with the serve and after holding both times to regain the lead, she rifled a backhand winner down the line on the ensuing point as Gorchanyuk came to the net to set up double match point. An unforced error from Gorchanyuk on the next rally handed Davies the 6-2, 7-6(4) win and the Gamecocks their first SEC win of 2021.

Gamecock Notables

Fifth-year senior Mia Horvit is off to a 2-0 start in SEC play at the No. 1 singles position. She got off to a hot start to the 2020 season as well, going 3-0 before the season was canceled due to COVID-19.
Freshman Allie Gretkowski posted the first SEC singles win of her career by defeating Anne Marie Hiser from Alabama on Feb. 21. Earlier in the year, she earned her first career win against a ranked player versus Georgia Tech by downing No. 123 Gia Cohen in straight sets.
Allie Gretkowski and Ana Cruz have been a formidable duo for the Gamecocks this season, going 4-0 at No. 3 doubles. As a team, the Gamecocks have lost just once at No. 3 doubles with a 7-1 record.
Megan Davies’ current doubles ranking of No. 29 with Mia Horvit is the highest of her career.
The Gamecocks’ highest ranked doubles tandem is currently Silvia Chinellato and Emma Shelton at No. 20. They finished 2019-20 with the team’s top mark at 13-4 and were ranked as high as No. 12 nationally. Chinellato and Shelton went 3-3 in the fall together and are 2-1 together this spring.
Prior to South Carolina’s loss at Auburn this season, the Gamecocks had won 16 consecutive regular-season SEC road matches dating back to the 2017 campaign. Previously, the Gamecocks’ last loss on the road was against Vanderbilt on April 14, 2017.
South Carolina has an impressive SEC record since the 2018 season with a 28-4 record in regular-season matches.
South Carolina was scheduled to face Michigan in a consolation match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Jan. 24, but the Michigan athletics department announced late the night before it was putting a pause on competition for all of its athletics teams due to updated protocols needing to be in place for the new variant of COVID-19.
Mia Horvit is closing in on history this spring, looking to join the 100-win club in singles. She currently owns a 92-42 record in singles and is in a tie for eighth place with Brigit Folland (2013-17). Tamara Sutton (1998-02) is next on the list in seventh place with 93. 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.
Head coach Kevin Epley is in his ninth season with the Gamecocks and will look to record his 300th career win this season. Epley currently has a 291-130 mark in 17 seasons as a head coach at three schools. Epley has amassed a 140-71 record as South Carolina’s head coach and boasts an impressive 63-34 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 has more wins in NCAA Tournament play than any Gamecock in school history. Between the team and individual tournaments, Horvit owns an impressive 17-3 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.
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 Texas A&M

Texas A&M brings an 8-2 record overall into Friday’s match, but the Aggies were not able to compete last week during the first week of SEC play at Kentucky and Vanderbilt due to the SEC’s COVID-19 management requirements. The Aggies own wins this season over Houston, Prairie View A&M, Washington State, SMU, Abilene Christian, TCU, Utah and McNeese. Their two losses came at the hands of No. 6 UCLA and No. 15 Baylor. Texas A&M has one ranked singles player with Tatiana Makarova at No. 64, and she also leads the team in singles victories with a 13-5 record. Makarova and Jayci Goldsmith form the nation’s No. 39 doubles team and are 10-3 together this season to lead all Aggie doubles squads. Texas A&M is coached by Mark Weaver who is now in his sixth season leading the Aggies after serving as an assistant at Texas A&M from 2007 to 2015.

The Texas A&M Series

South Carolina holds an 11-5 edge in the all-time series with Texas A&M, but the series is tied 4-all since the Aggies joined the SEC. Texas A&M won the first four meetings when it joined the league and South Carolina has answered by winning the last four matchups, including last year’s in Columbia by a 4-2 margin. In the 2020 contest, South Carolina lost the doubles point quickly by getting blanked on courts two and three, but they answered in singles play by dismantling the Aggies on courts 1-4 in straight sets to pick up the win. The Gamecocks have a 5-3 record versus Texas A&M in matches played in Columbia.

>> Full Texas A&M Series Results

About LSU

LSU is off to an undefeated start in 2021 with a 7-0 record overall and a 2-0 start to SEC play. The Tigers scored a big win at then-No. 9 Vanderbilt in their last match and also defeated Kentucky two days beforehand. LSU will take on Florida on Friday in Gainesville before facing the Gamecocks. Other wins for LSU this season include Rice, Southern, Tulane, TCU and SMU. The Tigers have a pair of players ranked in singles with Taylor Bridges leading the way at No. 41 followed by Safiya Carrington at No. 83. They also sport the nation’s No. 11-ranked doubles tandem of Nina Geissler and Eden Richardson. Paris Corley has the most singles wins on the team with a 12-2 record, and she along with Bridges have combined for an 8-1 doubles record that leads the team. LSU is led by co-head coaches Julia and Michael Sell.

The LSU Series

The Gamecocks have a substantial advantage in the all-time series with LSU, leading 27-6 and 24-5 in meetings during the SEC regular season. South Carolina has won three in a row over the Tigers and captured last year’s match in Columbia by a 4-1 score. The Gamecocks took the doubles point in that match with wins on courts one and two, and then got victories in singles from Mia Horvit, Megan Davies and Silvia Chinellato to secure what would turn out to be South Carolina’s final match of 2020. Columbia has not been a kind destination for LSU in the series, as the Gamecocks boast a 16-1 record at home against the Tigers and have never lost a home match to LSU as members of the SEC with a 15-0 record. LSU’s lone win in Columbia came by a 5-4 margin Feb. 22, 1985.

>> Full LSU Series Results