Ayana Akli

AWARDS

• All-SEC First Team — 2022
• SEC Academic Honor Roll – 2022
• ITA Scholar Athlete – 2022
• 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

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

CAREER DOUBLES STATISTICS

* At the University of Maryland