Women's Tennis . January 12, 2023

Women’s Tennis to Host Carolina Kickoff This Weekend

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina women’s tennis will begin their spring season this weekend, hosting the Carolina Kickoff at the Carolina Indoor Tennis Center. The Gamecocks will welcome teams from Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and Wisconsin for a weekend of action, starting Fri., Jan. 13 and running through Sun., Jan. 15.

Each team will see three singles and three doubles sessions on the weekend. South Carolina will start action on Friday with doubles at 1:00 p.m. and singles following at 2:00 p.m. They will continue on Saturday with singles beginning at 10:00 a.m. and doubles to follow at 12:30 p.m. Play will conclude on Sunday with doubles at 11:30 a.m. and singles at 12:30 p.m.

The Gamecocks enter the tournament with two singles players ranked in the top-20. Sophomore Sarah Hamner is No. 6 and senior Ayana Akli is No. 20.

Georgia Tech enters the tournament ranked No. 25 in the ITA Coaches Poll, released Jan. 4. The Yellow Jackets have four ranked singles players including the nation’s No. 10 player Carol Lee. Lee also combines with Kate Sharabura in the doubles rankings, coming in at No. T-53.

The squad from Wake Forest enters the tournament just outside of the Top-25, listed as having received votes in the poll. Wake is home to the nation’s No. 27 player Casie Wooten and the No. 12 doubles pair of Anna Brylin and Brooke Killingsworth.

The Wisconsin team enters with a pair of ranked singles players – No. 59 Maria Sholokhova and No. 82 Ava Markham.

Nine Gamecocks will see action this weekend, including newcomer Alice Otis. Otis, a native South Carolinian, joined the team at the start of the spring semester and will make her debut in the Garnet and Black.

Akli leads the team going into spring play with a 12-6 overall record with ranked singles wins over Nos. 17, 56, 58, 63, 66, 73, and 77. She is followed by fellow senior Ana Cruz who has a 10-4 overall record in singles.

All matches on the weekend will take place at the Carolina Indoor Tennis Center, located at 523 Superior Street in Columbia.

Admission to the tournament is free and open to the public. Doors will open for spectators one hour prior to the first match of the day. Matchups and final scores will be available on the tournament webpage. Those not in attendance can watch the action live through Track Tennis.

Full Schedule

Friday

10:30am – Singles Session

1:00pm – Doubles Session

2:00pm – Singles Session

Saturday

10:00am – Singles Session

12:30pm – Doubles Session

1:30pm – Singles Session

Sunday

9:00am – Singles Session

11:30am – Doubles Session