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Ana Cruz

  • height 5-4
  • class Junior
  • Hometown Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • High school Colegio Saber
  • height 5-4
  • class Junior
  • Hometown Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • High school Colegio Saber

Ana Cruz Bio

AWARDS

  • ITA Scholar-Athlete — 2020, 2021, 2023
  • SEC Academic Honor Roll — 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

2022-23 (SENIOR)

  • Started her fall season off by winning her singles flight at the Debbie Southern Furman Fall Classic with all of her wins coming in straight sets
  • Put up an 11-6 record in singles in tournament play
  • Played dual singles from the Nos. 4, 5, and 6 positions where she won three matches in SEC play
  • Clinched South Carolina’s win over No. 34 LSU in a comeback win after dropping the first set
  • Went 20-14 in doubles play with a 12-7 record in dual action
  • Played doubles in all of South Carolina’s dual meets throughout the season with partner Allie Gretkowski
  • Went 15-8 with Gretkowski including a 5-3 record at the No. 2 position and a 7-3 record at the No. 3 position

2021-22 (JUNIOR)

  • Led the Gamecocks with 21 doubles wins on the year, 15 of which came in dual matches
  • Primarily played in the No. 6 spot in dual matches winning matches against Campbell’s Mariana Ossa and Alabama’s Ansley Cheshire
  • Completed a straight sets win against Princeton’s Zoe Howard in the No. 4 spot to help South Carolina to the win at ITA Kickoff Weekend
  • Defeated SMU’s Nicole Petchey in the Gamecock Shootout
  • Took down the No. 28 doubles pair from Michigan State with Misa Malkin at the Wolverine Invitational
  • Played most doubles matches alongside Ayana Akli and finished the year with a 14-5 record as a pair
  • Had a seven-match winning streak with Akli in the middle of the SEC season
  • Played in the No. 1 spot with Akli at the SEC Tournament and defeated the No. 36 Fiona Arrese and Ellie Eades duo from Kentucky
  • Broke into the ITA Rankings at No. 73 with Akli for their highest ranking of the season
  • Earned a win in the NCAA First Round match against Iowa State as No. 89 doubles pair with Akli

2020-21 (SOPHOMORE)

  • Spent the fall in her home country of Brazil due to travel restrictions imposed by her country related to COVID-19
  • Rejoined the team in January and played in the team’s first dual matches of the season against ETSU and Coastal Carolina on Jan. 16, picking up two wins in singles and doubles
  • The ETSU contest marked the first collegiate dual singles match of her career
  • Established herself as the Gamecocks’ primary option for the No. 6 singles position
  • Had a remarkable year in doubles playing alongside freshman Allie Gretkowski, mostly at the No. 3 spot where the duo went a perfect 12-0 and 9-0 in SEC matches
  • Her 14-3 overall record for doubles marked the sixth-highest winning percentage in a season in school history at 82.4 percent
  • She and Gretkowski’s nine SEC doubles victories also tied a school record for the most in a single season
  • Was only two points away from defeating No. 50-ranked Marta Gonzalez of Georgia on court five when play was suspended due to the Bulldogs clinching the team decision
  • Had a critical win at No. 6 singles on the road at Mississippi State to help the Gamecocks upset the Bulldogs after losing the doubles point
  • Also registered a key victory over Vanderbilt’s Marcella Cruz on court six that helped the Gamecocks pull another upset
  • Won seven doubles matches in a row to close out the season and 10 of 11
  • Caught an unfortunate break in the regular-season finale against Florida when she sprained an ankle in the second set and was forced to retire
  • Sat out the SEC Tournament due to the sprained ankle she suffered versus Florida
  • Managed to come back for the NCAA Tournament and helped the Gamecocks take the doubles point from Iowa State in the first round, clinching it on court three with Gretkowski
  • Member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and an ITA Scholar-Athlete award winner

2019-20 (FRESHMAN)

  • Had her freshman year cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Registered her first career singles victory at the SMU Fall Invitational
  • Claimed a pair of singles wins in the consolation draw of the ITA Carolina Regional Championships
  • Teamed up with four different Gamecocks for doubles matches
  • Reached the doubles round of 16 at the ITA Regionals playing alongside Gabriela Martinez
  • Won a pair of doubles contests playing with Elise Mills at the SMU Fall Invitational
  • Made her first appearance in a dual match against Purdue in the opening round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at No. 3 doubles with Kennedy Wicker
  • Played No. 3 doubles against Georgia Tech and Denver with Martinez and Wicker as well
  • Hampered by a shoulder injury that limited her availability during the spring
  • Named an ITA Scholar-Athlete and a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll

HIGH SCHOOL

  • Ranked as the No. 36 recruit in the nation with a UTR of 10.76
  • Rated No. 1 in her home country of Brazil
  • Represented Brazil two times in Junior Fed Cup in 2016 and 2017
  • Took home the singles and doubles titles at the JB1 Sao Paulo in Brazil
  • Member of college tennis’ top-ranked recruiting class that season

CAREER SINGLES STATISTICS

Year Overall Tournament Dual (SEC) #1 (SEC) #2 (SEC) #3 (SEC) #4 (SEC) #5 (SEC) #6 (SEC)
2019-20 6-6 6-6
2020-21 5-7 5-7 (2-3) 1-3 (0-2) 4-4 (2-1)
2021-22 13-15 8-7 5-8 (1-5) 1-0 2-1 2-7 (1-5)
2022-23 15-12 11-6 4-6 (3-2) 1-3 1-2 (1-1) 2-1 (2-1)
Total 39-40 25-19 14-21 (6-10) 3-3 (0-0) 4-6 (1-3) 8-12 (5-7)

CAREER DOUBLES STATISTICS

Year Overall Tournament Dual (SEC) #1 (SEC) #2 (SEC) #3 (SEC)
2019-20 7-6 7-4 0-2 0-2
2020-21 14-3 14-3 (9-1) 0-2 (0-1) 14-1 (9-0)
2021-22 21-12 6-5 15-7 (8-2) 5-2 9-3 (8-2) 1-2
2022-23 20-14 8-7 12-7 (7-3) 5-3 (1-0) 7-4 (6-3)
Total 62-35 21-16 41-19 (24-6) 5-2 14-8 (9-3) 22-9 (15-3)