Women's Tennis . May 6, 2021

Gamecocks Ready to Begin NCAA Play Friday in Raleigh

South Carolina Takes on Iowa State in First Round at 11 a.m.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The No. 24 South Carolina women’s tennis team is ready to begin NCAA Tournament play Friday in Raleigh, N.C., facing No. 36 Iowa State in the first round at 11 a.m. at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center on NC State’s campus.

The Gamecocks bring a 12-11 overall record into the match, while the Cyclones are 13-7. NC State (16-5), ranked and seeded sixth for the tournament, will take on VCU (14-9) at 3 p.m. Friday in the other half of the regional. The two winners play at 2 p.m. Saturday with a trip to the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., on the line for the NCAA Championships that begin Sunday, May 16, with the round of 16.

Last Time Out

The Gamecocks suffered a 4-2 setback against No. 10 Texas A&M in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on April 22 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. It came a day after South Carolina upset the tournament’s No. 2 seed Florida in the quarterfinals.

Texas A&M got the doubles point after getting wins on courts one and two. Dorthea Faa-Hviding and Renee McBryde got the first victory by downing Silvia Chinellato and Emma Shelton at two by a 6-3 score. Jayci Goldsmith and Tatiana Makarova got the clincher at the top spot with a 6-4 triumph over Megan Davies and Mia Horvit.

South Carolina managed to get two victories in singles, but the Aggies got the three they needed to grab the team win. Horvit got one of Carolina’s wins at the No. 1 singles spot with a straight-set win over Makarova and Chinellato got the other by downing Faa-Hviding on court four in three sets. A&M got wins from Katya Townsend at three singles over Shelton, McBryde defeated Allie Gretkowski on court five and Riley McQuaid provided the clinching point at six in straight sets over Elise Mills.

Gamecock Notables

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 26 seasons in a row, tied for the eighth longest active streak in the nation. Overall, South Carolina has competed in 30 of the 39 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). The Gamecocks are one of just 13 teams to compete in at least 30 NCAA Tournaments. South Carolina has a 32-29 record all-time in NCAA Tournament matches.
Megan Davies and Mia Horvit were both chosen for this year’s NCAA Singles Championship and they will represent the Garnet & Black in the NCAA Doubles Championship. The singles gets underway Sunday, May 23, in Orlando, Fla., at the USTA National Campus and doubles begins the following day. It marks the first appearance for Davies in either event, while Horvit will be making her second in each. Horvit reached the round of 16 in singles as a freshman in 2017 to earn All-America honors, while in 2019 she and Ingrid Martins advanced to the semifinals of the doubles and finished the season ranked No. 1 in the nation.
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. Horvit also has never lost a singles match in NCAA dual matches with a 7-0 record and she is 5-1 in doubles.
Mia Horvit and Megan Davies both earned All-SEC accolades this year with Horvit landing on the first team for the second time and Davies making the second team. It was the first All-SEC honor for Davies, while Horvit became the Gamecocks’ third four-time All-SEC honoree.
Emma Shelton was named SEC Newcomer of the Week following the Gamecocks’ wins over Vanderbilt and Kentucky. She posted a perfect 4-0 record between singles and doubles to help South Carolina extend its winning streak to six matches at the time.
Megan Davies earned the first SEC Player of the Week honor of her career when she took home the award March 31. She helped the Gamecocks pull two road upsets over Mississippi State and Ole Miss with a pair of wins against top-40 players.
Megan Davies captured a spot on this year’s SEC All-Tournament Team after winning two singles and two doubles matches to help the Gamecocks reach the semifinals.
Kennedy Wicker was South Carolina’s member of the 2021 SEC Community Service Team.
The Gamecocks finished with a winning record in the SEC for the fifth season in a row, the longest streak in program history.
In defeating No. 19 Emma Antonaki of Mississippi State, Megan Davies registered the highest ranked win of her career.
The latest set of ITA rankings have Mia Horvit at No. 30, her highest of the season, Megan Davies at No. 59 and Emma Shelton at No. 87. Davies and Horvit are ranked No. 14 in doubles as well.
South Carolina has shown strength in doubles play this season, winning the doubles point 16 times in 23 matches. Overall, the Gamecocks have a 36-19 record in doubles matches this spring, and they have won the doubles point 13 times in their past 17 matches.
Emma Shelton posted her first win against a ranked opponent this spring by upending No. 80 Tereza Janatova of Ole Miss in straight sets. She also posted a ranked win against Kentucky in beating No. 71 Lesedi Jacobs.
Emma Shelton leads the team in singles wins this season with 13. Mia Horvit has the most doubles wins as an individual with 15, and the duo of Megan Davies/Horvit has 13 wins to lead the team.
Freshman Lindsay Tulenko made her collegiate debut in a dual match at Georgia on March 7 playing the No. 6 singles position. It was special for Tulenko not only because it was her first career start but also because her hometown of Bogart, Ga., is just outside of Athens.
Megan Davies hit the 75-win plateau in both singles and doubles with victories against LSU. Davies is one of 11 Gamecocks to hit the mark for both singles and doubles, and she ranks 11th all-time for combined victories with 161. Davies’ 80 career doubles wins rank No. 9 in school history as well.
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 11-0 at No. 3 doubles and 9-1 in SEC matches. As a team, the Gamecocks have lost just twice at No. 3 doubles with a 16-2 record.
When Megan Davies and Mia Horvit checked in at No. 13 nationally in doubles for the April 28 rankings it was the top mark of Davies’ career.
Mia Horvit is closing in on history this spring, looking to join the 100-win club in singles. She currently owns a 97-45 record in singles that ranks sixth in school history. Next on the list in fifth place is Carolina Culik with 98. 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.
Mia Horvit’s current career win total of 176 matches between singles and doubles is sixth in school history. Ingrid Martins (2015-19) is in fifth place with 178.
Head coach Kevin Epley is in his ninth season with the Gamecocks and is closing in on his 300th career win. Epley currently has a 299-136 mark in 17 seasons as a head coach at three schools. Epley has amassed a 148-77 record as South Carolina’s head coach and boasts an impressive 69-39 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.

scouting the competition

Iowa State is making its first NCAA appearance in school history this season after finishing the season with a 13-7 record and going 4-4 in the Big 12. Iowa State comes into the NCAA Tournament following one of, if not the most, successful seasons in school history. The Cyclones broke records and set new marks both collectively and individually. They had the most conference wins in school history (4), the best team winning percentage since 1975-76 (.650), the longest home win streak in school history (17), Maty Cancini became the all-time wins leader (160), the team had four wins against ranked opponents, and ISU earned the program’s first-ever victory at the Big 12 Championships.

NC State has been ranked in the top 10 in each of the last five polls. The team reached a season-best No. 4 in the middle of April and has been featured in the top 15 every week since Feb. 26, 2019. In total, the Wolfpack defeated seven nationally-ranked opponents on its way to posting a 16-5 record. Three members of the team (Anna Rogers, Alana Smith, Adriana Reami) were recognized as 2021 All-ACC honorees following the conference tournament, marking the most for the program in a single season. NC State won nine of its final 10 matches of the regular season on its way to finishing third in the ACC standings. That included a seven-match winning streak with six-straight ACC victories from March 12 through April 1. In the midst of that streak, the Pack most notably earned big 4-3 road wins at No. 29 Miami and No. 13 Duke.

VCU earned an automatic bid into the national tournament after a 4-0 victory over crosstown rival Richmond in the Atlantic 10 championship match. Monday’s selection marked the third straight tournament bid for the program and the seventh since becoming an A-10 conference member in 2012. In her first year at the helm, head coach Vivian Segnini guided VCU to a 14-9 record, including a perfect 5-0 record against conference opponents. The Rams’ roster is headlined by senior Paola Exposito Diaz-Delgado. The senior added to her already dominant collegiate career with a 16-3 singles record including an active 14-match win streak.

series records/notes

South Carolina and Iowa State are meeting for the first time.
South Carolina leads the series with NC State 13-3 but has dropped the past two against the Wolfpack by 6-1 scores, including one earlier this season in January and in 2020 as well. The two teams have met one time in the NCAA Tournament, which the Gamecocks won 5-2 in Knoxville, Tenn., in 1998. >> Full NC State Series Results
South Carolina has a 6-2 edge in the series with VCU and has won five straight over the Rams. The two teams have not played since 2014 and have met in the NCAA Tournament twice before with each team earning a win. VCU beat the Gamecocks on their home courts in 2002 and South Carolina got the win in Athens, Ga., in 2008. >> Full VCU Series Results