Columbia, S.C. – No. 38 South Carolina women’s tennis will begin SEC play this weekend, hosting No. 34 LSU on Friday and No. 2 Texas A&M on Sunday. The Gamecocks are coming off a weekend of split results where they defeated Wichita State but fell to No. 49 Oklahoma State.
The SEC women’s tennis season will begin on Fri., March 3, with the Gamecocks hosting the Tigers at the Carolina Tennis Center. The match will begin at 5 p.m. with gates opening one hour prior to first serve. Those not in attendance can view live streaming here and live stats here.
South Carolina will follow it up with a match against No. 2 Texas A&M on Sun., March 5 at noon. Live streaming will be available here with live stats available here.
Gamecock Notables
- The team is 5-4 on the season and have a 3-1 mark when playing at home.
- South Carolina is one of only two schools to have more than one player ranked in the ITA singles top-12. Senior Ayana Akli is ranked No. 10 while sophomore Sarah Hamner is ranked No. 12.
- Akli is a perfect 6-0 from the No. 1 singles position this season and is on a nine-match singles win streak. She has twice been named SEC Player of the Week this season.
- Hamner has recently made a return to the lineup after suffering an injury prior to the start of the dual season. She has an overall singles record of 13-6 this season and clinched the match over Wichita State with a win at the top spot in the lineup.
- Freshman McKenna Schaefbauer has been strong for the team this season. She has played from the 5 and 6 positions and has a 3-1 record in dual singles play.
- Akli and Hamner have recently reunited in doubles and have won two matches from the No. 1 position. They have an overall record of 9-5 this season. Hamner is a perfect 4-0 in dual doubles play this season – two wins with Akli and two with Schaefbauer.
- Senior Ana Cruz and junior Allie Gretkowski have been a solid No. 2 doubles pair for the team. They are 4-3 and have an overall record of 7-5.
Scouting the Tigers
- LSU is 6-1 on the season with their only loss coming at the hands of then-No. 21 UCF at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. The Tigers are 2-1 when playing on the road.
- The Tigers have two players in the ITA singles rankings – No. 11 Kylie Collins and No. 44 Anastasiya Komar.
- Collins leads the team from the No. 1 singles position where she has a 4-1 record and a four-match winning streak. She is 4-2 this season over ranked opponents.
- Komar primarily plays at the No. 2 position…