Women's Tennis Welcomes Two Opponents for Weekend Slate

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 33 South Carolina women’s tennis team returns home to host two conference opponents on Thursday and Saturday. The Gamecocks welcome No.15 Tennessee (5 p.m.) and Kentucky (Noon) for the weekend slate.

Both matches will take place at the Carolina Outdoor Tennis Center, weather permitting. Pit parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Fans are also encouraged to use metered lots around the facility.

This weekend will feature several giveaways and fan promotions, highlighted by Gamecock Tennis Palooza on Saturday. Fans will have the chance to enter to win a South Carolina Tennis t-shirt after both matches and can pick up a Gamecock Tennis button at the marketing table. Between the men’s and women’s matches on Saturday, an Easter egg hunt will take place around the facility. Saturday’s match will also serve as the program’s Breast Cancer Awareness match.

ITA RANKINGS

• In the latest edition of the ITA Team rankings, South Carolina checked in at No. 33 after dropping two road matches against ranked opponents.
• This is the eighth consecutive week the Gamecocks have been featured among the best in the country.
• In the ITA Singles rankings, sophomore Helena Buchwald jumped two spots to No. 50. Kaitlyn Carnicella follows closely at No. 57.
• Lauren Friedman and Buchwald found themselves in the top 15 in doubles play, coming in at No. 12.

LAST TIME OUT

The Gamecocks dropped two road matches against No. 8 Oklahoma and Arkansas this past weekend.

The Sooners claimed the early advantage by securing the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. Helena Buchwald and Lauren Friedman were leading Oklahoma’s No. 1 duo 4-3 before the match went unfinished.

In singles, Oklahoma won the first set on all six courts and ultimately clinched the match 4-0. Despite the result, Taylor Goetz and Jane Dunyon were leading in their second sets before play was halted.

Against Arkansas, Sara Borkop recorded the first opening-set win for the Gamecocks. Helena Buchwald and Olympe Carnicella both forced tiebreakers on courts one and two. Buchwald secured a 7-6(3), 6-2 win to put South Carolina on the board first.

Stojanova and Borkop both pushed their matches to third sets, while Goetz and Dunyon dropped their contests to give Arkansas a 3-1 lead. Carnicella mounted a late comeback on court one but fell short as Arkansas clinched the match. Stojanova and Borkop were leading 5-3 on their courts when play was halted.

SCOUTING THE LADY VOLS

• The Lady Volunteers come in at No. 15 in the latest ITA team rankings after dropping three spots after previously being No. 12.
• Tennessee is 11-6 (6-5 SEC) after claiming a 4-0 win over Missouri. UT has notable wins this season against then-ranked No. 7 Texas and then-ranked No. 8 Oklahoma State.

SERIES HISTORY

• Tennessee holds a close 27-24 advantage over South Carolina. The two programs’ first meeting dates all the way back to 1978.
• The Gamecocks are 11-9 when playing at home and have won the last five matches when playing in Columbia.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

• Kentucky comes into the matchup 9-11 (1-10 SEC) after recently falling to No. 11 Vanderbilt in a close 4-3 contest.
• Senior Zoe Hammond leads the Wildcats in the ITA Singles rankings, coming in at No. 72. Junior Julia Zhu follows behind at No. 99.

 SERIES HISTORY

• The Gamecocks are 31-16 against the Wildcats and have won the last two matchups in 2024 and 2025. Both matches resulted in a 4-0 victory for Carolina.
• South Carolina is 15-1 when playing in Columbia.