Andersson, Gamecocks ‘crushed’ week’s competition
After losing three of its most recent five matches, South Carolina’s women’s tennis team bounced back this week, defeating Furman Wednesday and sweeping College of Charleston and Charleston Southern Saturday. The Gamecocks beat Furman 6-1 and thumped Charleston Southern and College of Charleston 5-0 in each match.
Senior Josefin Andersson was encouraged by her team’s performance.
“We were supposed to win both matches, but we really ... crushed our opponents,” she said.
Both Andersson and coach Kevin Epley said they felt this week’s success would provide valuable momentum as the Gamecocks start off SEC action against No. 10 Texas A&M on March 1.
Epley praised Andersson’s improvement over the last year and noted her key contributions to the team.
“She’s actually holding down a couple of really important spots down on this team,” Epley said. “She’s been just an unbelievable surprise, quite frankly. With seniors, you never know how committed they’re going to be, particularly going through transition, new coaching staff, that sort of thing.”
Andersson, a native of Sweden, has relished the opportunity to play collegiate tennis in the United States.
“It’s very different in Sweden,” she said. “We don’t have college tennis at all. This is a great opportunity to come here and be able to play for an additional four years.”
Andersson is the doubles partner of Katerina Popova, the No. 114 player in Division I. As veterans, Andersson and Popova have known each other for a long time, which has helped develop a strong chemistry between the two players.
“Both of us are such competitors,” she said. “The last thing we want to do is lose. She knows that I want to win, and I know that she wants to win.”
Although Epley categorized their doubles play as somewhat “unorthodox,” he acknowledged its effectiveness. Together, they hold the No. 2 doubles spot, behind Jaklin Alawi and Dominika Kanakova.
Saturday’s wins wrapped up the Gamecocks nonconference schedule before beginning the gauntlet of SEC play.
Epley explained that the team is determined to “accentuate the positives” and “get rid of all the negatives.” He said he feels the Gamecocks made important strides mentally over the last week. Epley said the team is focused on maintaining a stable mental state to survive the grueling schedule ahead.
“We’re not going to win all of the matches,” he said. “But by the end of the year, we could be in a great place to really surprise some people if we stay on track.”
Competing in the SEC can provide the opportunities to be mentally and physically successful late in the season.
“If you are not tough, you are going to go home,” Epley said. “This conference is something else in terms of the week to week. As long as you are emotionally resilient and you’ve got a good attitude, you should be in very good shape to perform.”