The South Carolina women’s tennis team, ranked No. 16 nationally, will host top-ranked Georgia on Sunday in the opening match of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) season. The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the Carolina Tennis Center.
South Carolina moved up to No. 16 in the latest ITA Team Top-25 Poll after winning matches against Charlotte and SC State without dropping a point. Four players from the Gamecocks appeared in the first ITA rankings of the year. Kaitlyn Carnciella is ranked 63rd in singles, while Lauren Friedman and Helena Buchwald are ranked 18th as a doubles pair. Friedman and Sara Borkop are also ranked together at No. 73.
In their most recent matches, South Carolina swept Charlotte 4-0 and SC State 5-0 during a doubleheader on February 14. Carnicella and Misa Dunyon won both of their doubles matches, defeating Charlotte’s duo 6-3 and SC State’s pair 6-0. Sara Borkop and Jana Stojanova also secured the doubles point for South Carolina in each match from court three.
In singles play against Charlotte, Carnicella defeated No. 76 Ni Xi with scores of 6-2, 7-5; Buchwald beat Shona Nakano 6-1, 6-2; and Stojanova clinched with a win on court six by scores of 6-3, 7-6(4). Against SC State, Buchwald won her singles match decisively at 6-0, 6-1; Dunyon posted a victory over Danica Nedeljkovic at 6-1, 6-0; Stojanova added another win with a scoreline of 6-0, 6-1; and Carnicella finished her day undefeated with a win on court one.
Georgia comes into the contest with a record of five wins and one loss this season. The Bulldogs recently secured their second consecutive ITA Indoor Championship after defeating then-No.10 Ohio State by a score of 4-3. Historically, Georgia leads the all-time series against South Carolina with a record of 55 wins to South Carolina’s 17.
Georgia has six players featured in the latest ITA singles rankings: Aysegul Mert (No.4), Deniz Dilek (No.23), Anastasiia Gureva (No.33), Sofia Rojas (No.42), Anastasiia Lopata (No.74), and Patricija Paukstyte (No.77). In doubles competition, Emma Dong and Dilek are ranked No.26 as a pair, while Gureva and Mert are listed at No.47.
Live scoring for Sunday’s match will be available via StatBroadcast and live streaming will be provided by TrackTennis. Fans can follow in-match updates on X @GamecockWTennis or visit Gamecocksonline.com for more information about South Carolina women’s tennis.
