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Women’s Tennis Faces Pair of Top-15 Teams on the Road
Women's Tennis  . 

Women’s Tennis Faces Pair of Top-15 Teams on the Road

Columbia, S.C. – ­No. 27 South Carolina women’s tennis will hit the road this weekend for a pair of top-15 SEC matches. The Gamecocks will head to Athen, Ga., to take on No. 5 Georgia  before making their way to Knoxville, Tenn., to battle against No. 15 Tennessee.

With rain in the forecast on Friday in Athens and no indoor courts available, the match against the Bulldogs, originally scheduled for Friday, April 7, has been moved up to Thursday, April 6 at 1:00 p.m. Sunday’s match at Tennessee will continue as scheduled on Sunday, April 9 at noon.

Live stats and streaming for Thursday’s match at Georgia will be available here. Streaming and stat links against Tennessee will be made available at a later date.

Gamecock Notables

  • South Carolina enters the weekend on a six-match SEC win streak with home wins over No. 68 Kentucky, No. 23 Vanderbilt, No. 54 Arkansas, and Missouri, as well as road wins over Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
  • The Gamecocks are currently ranked No. 27 in the nation but have been ranked as high as No. 25 this season.
  • In the ITA Singles Rankings, two Gamecocks find themselves in the top-20 – No. 8 Ayana Akli and No. 19 Sarah Hamner.
  • Akli enters the weekend on a 17-match win singles win streak with eight of the last nine wins coming over ranked opponents. She is a perfect 14-0 in dual play and 8-0 against SEC opponents, all from the No. 1 position.
  • Hamner has an overall record of 18-9 this season and a 6-4 record in dual play. She is 5-4 from the No. 2 spot in the lineup and 1-0 from the No. 1 position.
  • Both sophomore Misa Malkin and senior Elise Mills enter the weekend with five-match win streaks in singles. Malkin has made her way up to No. 4 in the lineup this season where she is 4-0 and is a perfect 5-0 in SEC play. Mills finds herself at the No. 5 position where she is 5-1 and clinched the decisive point versus No. 54 Arkansas this past weekend.
  • Akli and Hamner are also ranked together in the ITA Doubles Rankings, coming in at No. 48. The duo is 12-7 overall and 5-2 in dual play, all from the top spot in the lineup.
  • Another staple of the doubles lineup this season has been Allie Gretkowski and Ana Cruz. The duo is 13-5 overall and 10-3 in dual play. The are 5-3 from the No. 2 position and 5-0 from the No. 3 position with a perfect 6-0 record against SEC opponents.

Scouting the Bulldogs

  • Georgia is 15-4 this season with an 8-1 mark in SEC play. They are a perfect 9-0 when playing on their home courts.
  • The Bulldogs are coming off of their first SEC loss of the season, having fallen at Texas A&M 2-5 on Sunday.
  • In the ITA Singles Rankings, Georgia has five players – No. 3 Lea Ma, No. 9 Dasha Vidmanova, No. 56 Mell Reasco, No. 72 Lopata Ansatasiia, and No. 125 Meg Kowalski.
  • Ma has led the team from the No. 1 position this season where she is 12-2. She is 26-4 overall and 8-1 against SEC opponents.
  • Vidmanova has been a consistent No. 2 for the team. She is 13-3 from that position and has an overall record of 27-5.
  • The Bulldogs have two doubles pairs in the ITA Rankings – No. 40 Guillermina Grant and Mai Nirundorn and No. 50 Kowalski and Reasco.
  • Grant and Nirundorn have hold primary duties at the No. 1 doubles position where they are 6-7. The duo is 13-9 overall and 2-6 in SEC play.
  • Kowalski and Reasco typically play at the No. 2 position where they are 9-5. They are 15-6 overall and 6-2 in conference matches.

Scouting the Volunteers

  • Tennessee is 14-4 this season with a 7-2 mark in conference play. They are a perfect 9-0 when playing on their home courts and are currently ranked No. 15 in the nation.
  • The Volunteers only SEC losses this season come while on the road at Georgia and at Texas A&M.
  • Tennessee’s lone representative in the ITA Singles Rankings is Rebeka Mertena who comes in at No. 24. Mertena is 20-14 overall according to the ITA and has a 11-4 record in dual play. She primarily plays at the No. 1 position where she is 7-3, but has also spend time at the No. 2 spot where she is 4-1.
  • In the ITA Doubles Rankings, Mertena and Esther Adeshina are the only Volunteer duo represented, coming in at No. 36. The pair is 9-5 in dual play and 8-4 from the No. 1 position. They have a 4-3 record against SEC opponents.

For all the latest South Carolina women’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockWTennis).

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