Columbia, S.C. – No. 34 South Carolina women’s tennis will wrap up it’s five-match conference homestand this weekend, hosting No. 68 Kentucky and No. 23 Vanderbilt for a weekend of SEC action. The Gamecocks will take on the Wildcats on Friday, March 17, at 5:00 p.m. before hosting the Commodores on Sunday, March 19, at 1:00 p.m.
Both matches will take place at the Carolina Tennis Center with gates opening one hour prior to first serve. Matches are free and open to the public. Free parking is available in the Heyward Street garage.
Those not in attendance can watch the match versus Kentucky live here and view live stats here. Live streaming for the Vanderbilt match will be available here with live stats available here.
Gamecock Notables
- South Carolina is 6-6 this season with a 1-2 mark in conference play. Three of their losses have come against top-10 opponents.
- The Gamecocks have two players in the ITA Singles Rankings – No. 7 Ayana Akli and No. 14 Sarah Hamner.
- Akli has led the team from the No. 1 position this season where she is a perfect 8-0. Akli is 23-6 overall and enters the weekend on an 11-match win streak. Thanks to Akli’s efforts this season, South Carolina is the only team in the conference with a perfect record from the top spot in the singles lineups.
- Hamner is 14-8 overall this season and is working her way back into action following an injury from earlier in the spring. Hamner is currently 1-3 from the No. 2 position and has an 8-5 overall record against ranked opponents.
- Akli and Hamner combine for South Carolina’s lone ranked doubles pair. The duo comes in at No. 53 in the rankings and has an overall record of 10-6 this season. They are 3-1 from the No. 1 position.
- The doubles pair of senior Ana Cruz and junior Allie Gretkowski has been consistent for the team, going 6-3 in dual play. They are 4-3 from the No. 2 position and 2-0 from the No. 3 position.
Scouting the Wildcats
- Kentucky is 7-6 overall this season with a 1-3 mark in SEC action. They began the SEC season with a 5-2 win at Mississippi State but have since fallen to Ole Miss, Georgia, and Tennessee.
- Kentucky is coming off of a 5-2 win versus Bellarmine on their home courts in Lexington.
- The Wildcats have one player ranked in the ITA Singles Rankings – No. 74 Florencia Urrutia. Urrutia has spent most of her time holding down the top spot in the singles lineup for Kentucky.
Scouting the Commodores
- Vanderbilt is 8-5 this season with a 2-2 record in…