For the South Carolina women’s tennis team, SEC play is flying by, but the Gamecocks feel that they have much more to prove. Head coach Kevin Epley’s team is determined to close out the regular season on a positive note, and that starts with having strong performances at home this weekend against Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
South Carolina hosts Mississippi State on Friday before playing Ole Miss on Sunday.
With only seven matches left before postseason play begins, the Gamecocks are looking to climb up the SEC standings and improve their chances of earning a bid to the NCAA tournament. Epley is fully aware of how important this upcoming stretch is for him and his players.
“These games are huge, especially the next two games coming up against Mississippi State and Ole Miss,” Epley said. “Both are great programs, and two wins for us will be a big accomplishment, both ranking-wise and earning a spot in the tournament.”
The Gamecocks are just 2-4 in the SEC, but 9-6 overall. Even though South Carolina holds a winning record, Epley and the team still aren’t particularly pleased about the season. He attributed the Gamecocks’ four conference losses to careless mistakes that “will not be repeated.”
This past weekend, South Carolina defeated Missouri 6-1 before losing 4-3 to Arkansas on Sunday.
Earlier in the season, South Carolina had a chance to knock off some of the SEC’s best squads, such as Texas A&M, but failed. Epley said that in order for his program to take the next step, they must find a way to win those types of matches.
“We were really hoping this year that we would beat the big teams,” Epley said. “We beat Auburn, which is a good win, but we couldn’t close out the big wins. Texas A&M was a big one that we needed to win and didn’t. Just the whole team not showing up and getting things done.”
The Gamecocks now have their work cut out for them if they want to turn things around before the end of the regular season.
“We put ourselves in a corner with early losses, and now we have to get out,” Epley said. "Home court advantage in the SEC is huge and there is a lot of energy that comes with it. We are fed up with the acceptance of losses and it is time to change that.”
Mississippi State enters Friday’s match having won four straight matches and Ole Miss has won three out of its last four matches.
South Carolina freshman Hadley Berg said that she and her teammates are motivated more than ever to perform at a high level for the rest of the season.
“This last string of matches have been disappointing because of the losses, but it has also made us more determined about what we need to do for the rest of the season,” said Berg. “We have made the decision that we don’t want to lose anymore.”
After facing Mississippi State and Ole Miss, South Carolina will prepare for a road match against Florida the following weekend.