Ayana Akli
- height 5-5
- class Fifth Year
- Hometown Silver Spring, Md.
- Previous School Maryland
- High school Wheaton High School
- height 5-5
- class Fifth Year
- Hometown Silver Spring, Md.
- Previous School Maryland
- High school Wheaton High School
Ayana Akli Bio
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
| 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) | — | — | — | — |
| Total | 65-23 | 25-12 | 50-11 (9-2) | 24-6 | 16-5 (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) | — |
| Total | 47-20 | 11-10 | 36-10 (8-2) | 27-6 | 9-4 (8-2) | — |
* At the University of Maryland
