Gamecocks Face Tennessee on the Road, Host Kentucky Sunday

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Gamecocks Face Tennessee on the Road, Host Kentucky Sunday

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 25 South Carolina women’s tennis team hits the road to face another top 10 opponent before returning home to host a match at the end of the week. The Gamecocks open the weekend at No. 6 Tennessee on Fri., March 7 at 12:00 p.m. and wrap up the week at home, hosting No. 58 Kentucky on Sun., March 9 for a 1:00 p.m. match.

Gamecock Notables

  • The Gamecocks redeemed themselves after losing 1-6 to Georgia at their SEC opener, bouncing back to pick up two statement wins at home the following week.
  • South Carolina is coming off of victories over Florida and Auburn, which increased its overall dual match record to 7-4 and SEC record to 2-1. The Gamecocks began the weekend sweeping the Gators 4-0 last Friday which marked the first time the program has beat Florida since 2019. Olympe Lancelot and Bella Bergvist Larsson picked up the first doubles win with a 6-1 victory before the Gators responded with a 7-5 win from the top of the lineup. Helena Buchwald and Jana Stojanova stormed back from a 1-4 deficit to secure the doubles point with a 7-5 win. Buchwald (6-1, 6-2), Misa Malkin (6-3, 6-4) and Larsson (6-4, 6-3) sealed the 4-0 sweep with commanding wins.
  • The Gamecocks rounded out the weekend with a huge upset over then-no.6 Auburn. South Carolina, who was not ranked in the top 25 at the time, defeated the Tigers 4-2 in a comeback thriller after dropping the doubles point. Auburn claimed the first point early after picking up wins from the No. 1 and 3 positions in doubles. The Gamecocks regained the lead with wins from Larsson (6-3, 6-2) and Malkin (6-4, 6-0), who picked up her first ranked win of the season against No. 17. Auburn retailed from court 1, evening out the score to 2-all with a 6-1, 7-6(2) win over Sarah Hamner. Buchwald (6-3, 7-5) and Kaitlyn Carnicella (4-6, 6-3, 6-1) picked up wins to clinch the 4-2 victory.
  • South Carolina jumped from No. 53 to No. 25 in the latest ITA rankings release following its performances. Three Gamecocks earned singles rankings with Hamner leading at No. 19 followed by Carnicella at No. 92 and Malkin at No. 93. In doubles, Hamner and Carnicella are tabbed at No. 36.
  • Larsson and Malkin are both 7-2 in singles.

Scouting the Volunteers

  • No. 6 Tennessee is 8-2 this season with a 2-1 conference record.
  • The Volunteers opened last weekend with a 4-2 win over No. 71 Ole Miss before falling to No. 10 LSU 0-4.
  • Elza Tomase leads the Vols in the latest rankings, coming in at No. 8 in singles followed by Catherine Aulia (No. 36) and Leyla Britez Risso (No. 103). The team has four pairings in the rankings in doubles; Vanesa Suarez/Maeve Thornton (No. 40), Tomase/Auila (No. 43), Tomase/Elim Yan (No. 49) and Auila/Britez Risso (No. 52).
  • Aulia has a 9-2 singles record, competing at line 3 and 4. Tomase and Sofia Cabezas, the team’s No. 1 doubles pair, have a 7-1 record and are currently on a seven-match winning streak.

Scouting the Wildcats

  • No. 58 Kentucky is 6-5 this season. They have yet to win a conference match after facing three SEC opponents thus far.
  • The Wildcats fell to No. 10 LSU (2-4) and No. 71 Ole Miss (0-4) last weekend.
  • Julia Zhu is tabbed at No. 66 in singles while Zoe Hammond is No. 101. The Wildcats have one pair in the doubles rankings, Elizabeth Eadas and Elizabeth Stevens, who sit at No. 87.
  • Zhu has a strong 8-1 record in singles and is 6-0 from the No. 3 position.

Series History

  • South Carolina and Tennessee are near even in the all-time series history with the Vols leading 24-28. The Gamecocks won the match 4-3 the last time the two programs met on March 8, 2024.
  • The Gamecocks lead the series record 30-16 against Kentucky. South Carolina swept the Wildcats 4-0 the last time the two met which was April 5, 2024.

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