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
