Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina women’s tennis head coach Kevin Epley has announced the signing of Kaitlyn Carnicella of Whippany, N. J., to the team for the 2024-25 season.
“Kaitlyn is a terrific player with a lot of drive to become a great college tennis player,” said Epley. “She will be a great addition to our squad from both an athletic and team culture perspective. We can’t wait to get her on the squad and help develop her talent to its fullest potential.”
“I am excited to come to the University of South Carolina,” said Carnicella. “I want my future in the hands of a proven program and a coaching staff that believes in the future of my tennis. I am looking forward to getting to know the team and coaches.”
Signed, sealed, and delivered ✍️
Welcome home, Kaitlyn! 🐔 pic.twitter.com/kV5cEoUzAj
— Gamecock Women’s Tennis (@GamecockWTennis) May 31, 2024
Coming out of high school, Carnicella was a Blue Chip recruit and ranked No. 3 in the Class of 2022 (via TennisRecruiting.net). She also ranked as high as No. 3 in the USTA U18 rankings.
She was a highly sought after recruit, having earned two USTA Gold Balls and having competed in the Les Petits As world championships. Carnicella was also a finalist in doubles at National Hard Courts and holds numerous national titles in both doubles and singles.
As a junior, Carnicella advanced to the third round of the J1 College Park in 2019, climbed from qualifying to the third round of the J1 College Park in 2021, and advanced all the way to the finals of the J4 Daytona Beach in 2022.
Carnicella began her career at Auburn University where she was named SEC Freshman of the Week three consecutive times. As a freshman, she won 20 singles matches and 25 doubles matches. In singles, she recorded her highest career ranked win over then-No. 5 Abbey Forbes of North Carolina and ranked as high as No. 80 in the ITA Singles Rankings. In doubles, she went 16-7 in dual matches and a near-perfect 8-1 in conference matches.
Carnicella has also competed on the ITF Tour, having advanced from qualifying to the round of 16 at the ITF $25k in Huntsville, Ala., and most recently advancing to the round of 16 at the ITF/USTA W35 in Bethany Beach where she upset WTA No. 409 Alana Smith in the first round.
Carnicella is the first transfer addition to the women’s tennis team this offseason. She will join the team in the fall along with freshmen Helena Buchwald and Jana Stojanova.
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