Columbia, S.C. – No. 19 South Carolina women’s tennis will wrap a four-match homestand this weekend, hosting No. 17 Alabama and No. 13 Auburn on Friday and Sunday.
The meeting with the Crimson Tide will take place Friday and 3:00 p.m. with the dual against the Tigers on Sunday at noon.
Admission to both matches is free and open to the public with gates to the Carolina Tennis Center opening one hour prior to first serve. As a reminder to fans, dogs are not permitted at the Carolina Tennis Center.
Fan parking will be available at City of Columbia meters on streets surrounding the athletic village, subject to corresponding parking fees. Fans are also permitted to park at the Carolina Indoor Tennis Center located at 523 Superior Street.
Those not in attendance can view live streaming for both matches here with live stats against Alabama here and against Auburn here.
Gamecock Notables
- South Carolina is ranked No. 19 in the latest ITA Team Rankings and has been ranked as high as No. 14 this season. The team is 9-4 overall with a 7-1 record at home this season.
- The Gamecocks have three players in the ITA Singles Rankings – No. 8 Ayana Akli, No. 10 Sarah Hamner, and No. 125 Shahar Biran.
- Akli is 19-8 overall this season and 6-4 in dual play, all from the No. 1 position. She finished the fall as the national runner-up and has been ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation this year.
- Hamner has a team-leading 22-6 record this season and is 9-1 in dual play from the No. 2 spot in the lineup. She has 13 ranked wins this season with her most recent coming in straight sets over the nation’s No. 25 player.
- Biran is 11-12 overall and 6-5 in dual play from the No. 3 spot in the lineup.
- In the doubles rankings, Akli comes in at No. 30 with Olympe Lancelot and at No. 41 with Sarah Hamner.
- Akli and Lancelot are 7-2 this season and 4-2 from the top of the doubles lineup.
- Akli and Hamner are 6-6 this season and 3-2 from the top of the lineup. The duo is coming off of an upset of the nation’s No. 8 ranked team.
Scouting the Crimson Tide
- Alabama is 13-1 this season and a perfect 4-0 in conference play. They enter the weekend on an 11-match win streak and with a 1-1 record on the road. Their lone loss came at NC State during the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
- The Crimson Tide has three player in the ITA Singles Rankings – No. 32 Loudmilla Bencheikh, No. 83 Petra Sedlackova, and No. 116 Ola Pitak.
- Bencheikh is 12-10 this season and 1-3 in SEC play.
- Sedlackova is 16-9…