The South Carolina women’s tennis team will play against Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on April 30 at the Chewning Tennis Center at the University of North Carolina. The match is scheduled for Friday afternoon, with the winner advancing to face either UNC or Charleston Southern on Saturday.
This tournament appearance marks South Carolina’s 31st consecutive year competing in the NCAA event, a streak that began in 1995. Head coach Kevin Epley has led the team to every tournament since taking over as head coach. Last season, South Carolina was eliminated by UNC in the second round.
The Gamecocks enter this year’s tournament ranked No. 32 nationally and finished their regular season with a record of 12-12 overall and 5-10 in conference play. Helena Buchwald leads South Carolina with a singles record of 14-6 and an impressive performance against ranked opponents from her position. Buchwald and doubles partner Lauren Friedman are currently ranked No. 12 nationally after peaking at No. 9 during this season.
Maryland comes into the match ranked No. 33 after finishing its regular season with a record of 16-6 and reaching the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament before losing to Michigan. This is Maryland’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011, marking its seventh overall appearance; however, they have yet to win a match in tournament history.
The two teams have played each other three times previously, beginning in 2004, with South Carolina holding a slight advantage by winning two out of those three matches.
Live scoring for Friday’s match will be available on StatBroadcast along with live streaming options online. Fans can also follow updates through social media channels associated with Gamecock women’s tennis.
