Stillwater, Okla. – South Carolina women’s tennis graduate Ayana Akli and junior Sarah Hamner will begin their journeys in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships on Monday. They will compete at the Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Okla., for a shot at the national titles.
Akli enters the singles bracket as a No. 9-16 seed for the second consecutive season. This is also her fourth consecutive season of earning a bid to the tournament. No. 11 Akli will face No. 36 Casie Wooten of Wake Forest in her first-round match at 11:00 a.m. The two faced already this year during the dual season in Winston-Salem with Wooten taking the match in three sets.
Hamner will also be making an appearance in her third consecutive NCAA Singles Tournament. She is currently ranked No. 19 and will take on No. 63 Shavit Kimchi of Duke in her first-round match at 10:30 a.m.
Akli and Hamner will also take on the NCAA Doubles Tournament together. The No. 28-ranked duo will face No. 22 Eryn Cayetano and Emma Charney of Southern California in their first-round match on Tuesday. The start time of the match is TBA.
The Gamecock duo was in the doubles tournament together in 2023, entering as alternates and making a run to the quarterfinals to end the season as doubles All-Americans.
Also in 2023, Akli set the standard as the furthest a Gamecock has ever advanced in the NCAA Singles Tournament with her run to the quarterfinals.
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