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Tigers Open SEC Play at South Carolina

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Tigers Open SEC Play at South Carolina

Columbia, S.C. – The LSU women’s tennis team (6-1) open conference play on Friday when they take on the South Carolina Gamecocks (5-4) at 4 p.m. CT on Friday at the Carolina Tennis Center.

South Carolina (Mar. 3)
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The Matchup
Friday’s match will mark the 34th contest between the programs, with South Carolina boasting a 26-7 lead. When the teams met last season at the LSU Tennis Complex, the Gamecocks defeated a player-shortened LSU by a score of 6-1.

South Carolina have a 5-4 record on the year and strong home form with a 3-1 tally when playing at the Carolina Tennis Center. In singles, the Gamecocks are led by a formidable 1-2 duo of No. 10 Ayana Akli and No. 12 Sarah Hamner. Akli is a perfect 6-0 in dual play this season at the top spot while Hamner has only recently returned to the lineup from injury in late February.

The Gamecocks have enjoyed success in doubles play and are boasted with the return of Hamner to the lineup. The pair of Ana Cruz and Allie Gretkowski have earned four wins at the No. 2 double spot, a team high. At the top court, Akli and Hamner have recently reunited after playing together in the fall. The duo has won back-to-back since Hamner returned and boast an overall record of 9-5 together dating back to the fall.

Tiger Tidbits
The Tigers were last in action a week ago as they traveled to New Orleans and defeated the Tulane Green Wave by a score of 5-2. LSU claimed the doubles point and added singles wins from Kylie Collins, Anastasiya Komar, Nina Geissler and Nikita Vishwase to round out the tally.

LSU is represented in the ITA team rankings as well as in both singles and doubles. As a team, the Tigers are ranked No. 34. In singles, Kylie Collins checked in at No. 11 while Anastasiya Komar was ranked No. 44. In doubles, Komar and teammate Nikita Vishwase checked in at No. 17.

Anastasiya Komar became the first Tiger to hit 20 singles win on the overall season last Friday after she won in straight sets. The Belarus native has had a dominant first season of competition in Purple & Gold, boasting an overall singles record of 20-5 as well as a perfect 6-0 record in dual matches playing at the top two singles courts for LSU.

Komar has also led from the front in doubles alongside partner Nikita Vishwase. The duo boast a perfect 6-0 record at the top doubles court for the Tigers in dual play and have an overall record of 18-3.

Kylie Collins has played at the top spot for the Tigers and is currently on a four-match win streak. Collins’ is likely to face one of No. 10 Akli or No. 12 Hamner in her seventh ranked singles match this season, where she boasts a strong 4-2 record.

Doubles play has been the strong point for the Tigers in dual matches this season with a team-wide dual match record of 16-2. Komar and Vishwase are undefeated at the top court at 6-0, court two has a record of 4-1 while court three has a record of 6-1. The Tigers have claimed the doubles point in all seven matches thus far this season.

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