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Ayana Akli

  • height 5-4
  • class Junior
  • Hometown Silver Spring, Md.
  • Previous School Maryland
  • High school Wheaton High School
  • height 5-4
  • class Junior
  • Hometown Silver Spring, Md.
  • Previous School Maryland
  • High school Wheaton High School

Ayana Akli Bio

AWARDS

  • 3x ITA All-American – Singles (2023, 2024), Doubles (2023)
  • ITA Scholar Athlete – 2022
  • 4x NCAA Singles Tournament Qualifier – 2021*, 2022, 2023, 2024
  • CSC Academic All-District – 2023
  • 3x All-SEC First Team — 2022, 2023, 2024
  • 3x SEC Academic Honor Roll – 2022, 2023, 2024
  • 2x SEC Community Service Team – 2023, 2024
  • SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year – 2024
  • SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-grad scholarship recipient
  • SEC Player of the Week – Jan. 25, 2023; Feb. 22, 2023
  • Big Ten Freshman of the Year — 2020*
  • All-Big Ten Team — 2020*, 2021*
  • Big Ten Athlete of the Week — Feb. 4, 2020*; Feb. 23, 2021*
  • Academic All-Big Ten — 2021*

2023-24 (GRADUATE)

  • During the fall, made a deep run in the ITA All-American Championships, advancing to the semifinals with wins over three top-35 opponents, all in straight sets
  • Came back to make another deep run in the ITA Fall National Championships, finishing the event as the singles runner-up
  • Posted 28 singles wins throughout the season with 15 of them over ranked opponents
  • Remained in the top-15 of the ITA singles rankings throughout the season, peaking at No. 3 and finishing the season at No. 12
  • Played at the No. 1 position in the singles lineup throughout the season, winning 11 matches in dual play
  • Was in the ITA doubles rankings with two different partners during the season, peaking at No. 27 with Olympe Lancelot and at No. 21 with Sarah Hamner
  • Claimed seven ranked doubles wins during the season with five of them over top-25 opponents
  • Played at the top of the doubles lineup for the entire season, posting 11 doubles wins in dual matches
  • Qualified for both the NCAA Singles and Doubles Tournaments where she advanced to the Round of 32 in singles and Round of 16 in doubles
  • Was named to the All-SEC First Team for the third consecutive year
  • Became the program’s first SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
  • Received South Carolina’s nomination for the SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete post-grad scholarship

2022-23 (SENIOR)

  • Led the team in singles win percentage for the second consecutive year season, compiling a 34-10 (.773) record. Also led the team in doubles wins with a 24-16 (.600) record
  • Advanced from the qualifying draw to the main draw of the ITA All-American Championships in singles for the second consecutive year. Made her way into the consolation semifinals of the main draw
  • Advanced to the semifinals of the ITA Carolina Regionals
  • Went on a 17-match win streak in singles, beginning during the Carolina Kickoff and extending through the majority of the dual season
  • Played the entirety of the dual season at the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles
  • Was twice named SEC Player of the Week – Jan. 25 and Feb. 22
  • Ranked as high as No. 6 in the ITA Singles Rankings and finished the season ranked No. 11
  • Earned a No. 9-16 seed in the NCAA Singles Tournament for the first time in her career. Made a deep run, advancing to the quarterfinals of the event, the furthest that a Gamecock has ever advanced
  • Entered the NCAA Doubles Tournament as an alternate with partner Sarah Hamner and made a run to the quarterfinals of the event
  • Was named an ITA All-American in both singles and doubles for her performances at the NCAA Singles and Doubles Tournaments
  • With Hamner, ended the season with a doubles ranking of No. 21 in the nation

2021-22 (JUNIOR)

  • Finished the season with the second most singles wins on the Gamecock squad with 29, 16 of which came against ranked opponents
  • Ranked as high as No. 28 in the ITA Singles Ranking and finished as No. 59
  • Advanced from the qualifying draw to the main draw of the ITA All-American National Championships in singles
  • Advanced to the finals of the ITA Carolina Regionals but fell to No. 35 Fiona Crawley of North Carolina
  • Played primarily in the No. 2 spot for the Gamecocks and owned the best SEC singles record of the Gamecocks with a 9-2 showing
  • Recorded her first dual match win at Wake Forest with a three-set win against No. 75 Anna Campana of Wake Forest
  • Notched her first SEC win on the road at LSU with a win over Taylor Bridges
  • Went on an 11-match winning streak from March 13 to May 7 beginning with a win against No. 25 Mell Reasco of Georgia and recorded eight ranked wins in that time frame
  • Clinched the upset against No. 13 Auburn with a three-set victory over No. 70 Ariana Arseneault
  • Topped No. 67 Marlee Zein in the regular season finale at Florida
  • Earned wins in both rounds of the SEC Tournament that South Carolina played in against Kentucky and Georgia
  • Was selected to the NCAA Singles Championship but fell in the Round of 64 to NC State’s No. 11 Jaeda Daniel
  • Went 14-4 overall and 8-2 in SEC doubles play primarily in the No. 2 spot with Ana Cruz
  • Ranked as high as No. 73 with Cruz after defeating the No. 36 duo from Kentucky in the SEC Tournament
  • Made the doubles rankings with Misa Malkin and was ranked as high as No. 42 after helping the Gamecocks earn the doubles point alongside at ITA Kickoff Weekend

2020-21 (SOPHOMORE)

  • Was a unanimous selection for the All-Big Ten Team, her second consecutive season earning the honor
  • Named Big Ten Athlete of the Week for the second time in her career Feb. 23, 2021
  • Ranked as high as No. 29 in the nation in singles during the spring and finished No. 44
  • Achieved a doubles ranking of No. 76 alongside Eva Alexandrova
  • Selected for the NCAA Singles Championship and advanced to the second round
  • Downed previously undefeated Fiona Crawley of North Carolina in the first round of NCAAs, as Crawley was 30-0 entering the contest
  • First Maryland player chosen for the NCAA Singles Championship since 2011
  • Went 14-3 during the spring against a schedule that featured just Big Ten opponents
  • Earned a place on the Academic All-Big Ten Team
  • Transferred to South Carolina at the conclusion of her sophomore year at Maryland

2019-20 (FRESHMAN)

  • Had a remarkable freshman year that ended with her being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, the first player in Maryland history to earn the award
  • Also named to the All-Big Ten Team
  • Earned Big Ten Athlete of the Week on Feb. 4, 2020
  • Went 21-3 overall in singles and 10-1 at the No. 1 spot for the Terps
  • Ranked as high as No. 71 in the nation
  • Went 8-1 in doubles with Kate Yemelyanenka to lead the team
  • Was 9-1 overall in doubles during the spring playing exclusively at No. 1 doubles

HIGH SCHOOL

  • Graduated in the top five percent of her class from Wheaton High School in Silver Spring, Md., in 2019
  • Four-year member of the varsity tennis team
  • Finished 12-0 each year of high school
  • Three-time state champion and four-year MVP
  • County and divisional champion three years in a row

CAREER SINGLES STATISTICS

Year Overall Tournament Dual (SEC) #1 (SEC) #2 (SEC) #3 (SEC) #4 (SEC) #5 (SEC) #6 (SEC)
2019-20* 21-3 11-2 10-1 10-1
2020-21* 15-4 1-1 14-3 14-3
2021-22 29-16 13-9 16-7 (9-2) 0-2 16-5 (9-2)
2022-23 34-10 18-7 16-3 (9-2) 16-3 (9-2)
2023-24 28-11 14-5 14-6 (6-4) 11-6 (6-4) 3-0 (0-0)
Total 127-44 57-24 80-20 (24-8) 51-15 (15-6) 19-5 (9-2)

CAREER DOUBLES STATISTICS

Year Overall Tournament Dual (SEC) #1 (SEC) #2 (SEC) #3 (SEC)
2019-20* 16-5 7-4 9-1 9-1
2020-21* 12-3 12-3 12-3
2021-22 19-12 4-6 15-6 (8-2) 6-2 9-4 (8-2)
2022-23 24-16 13-8 11-8 (6-3) 11-8 (6-3)
2023-24 18-12 7-5 11-7 (6-3) 11-7 (6-3)
Total 89-48 31-23 58-25 (20-8) 49-01 (12-6) 9-4 (8-2)

* At the University of Maryland