Every athletics season comes with expectations, among the team and among the fans. The women’s tennis team has made the NCAA Tournament four years in a row now, and this trend is now becoming the yearly expectation heading into head coach Kevin Epley’s fifth season at South Carolina.
Gamecock fans have watched their women’s tennis program become one of the best in the country under the guidance of Epley. Four tournament appearances in four years is an impressive feat that should not go unnoticed. What is even more impressive is that this is a part of Epley’s larger 12-year streak of making the tournament.
Epley has had a number of substantial accolades in his 12-year career as a head coach, including six conference championships and seven top-25 finishes. However, last season might have been his most impressive achievement. He led a team that had to rely on four freshmen to a top-15 finish with a 19-8 record in a conference that had eight other teams finish in the final top 25.
The Gamecocks are only losing Ximena Siles Luna from last year’s team. While Siles Luna was a great player for the Gamecocks, it is hard to not be excited about the lone member of the 2016 signing class, Mia Horvit.
“She is a proven player who will have an immediate impact on the team," said Epley once Horvit signed. "We have been high on Mia’s ability for a long time and believe she will continue to improve in the years to come.”
That is high praise for such a young player, but the praise is warranted. She was considered the No. 11 player in the recruiting class according to TennisRecruiting.net and was ranked as high as No. 73 in the junior rankings by the International Tennis Federation.
Horvit is expected to have a big freshman season, but several talented rising sophomores showed their potential this past season. As previously mentioned, Epley and the Gamecocks had to previous rely on freshmen Paige Cline, Ingrid Gamarra Martins, Rachel Rohrabacher and Hannah Templeton.
Rohrabacher and Templeton played a little bit this past season, but weren’t relied upon nearly as much Cline and Martins. Cline played most of the season at the No. 3 spot and posted an 18-13 record, and Martins played at the No. 2 spot where she finished with a 23-12 record. Both of them had spectacular first seasons and were able to finish ranked No. 97 and No. 76, respectively, in national polls.
Caroline Dailey will be looked at as one of the leaders of this team as she enters her senior season. She played the No. 1 spot for the team last year and posted a 6-19 record. That might look bad on paper, but the SEC is so competitive that her performance was still good enough to finish ranked No. 71 in the country. I anticipate a jump in the win column this coming season.
Junior Hadley Berg, senior Brigit Folland and junior Allison Mills compose the rest of the team. Mills didn’t play much last season, but Folland and Berg were two of the best on the team. Folland played mostly at the No. 5 spot where she finished with a 25-6 record, and Berg primarily held down the No. 4 spot where she posted a 25-8 record. They will be integral pieces this season as the Gamecocks make their push for another NCAA Tournament bid.
Expectations should be high for this year’s women’s tennis team. Winning the SEC Championship or Tournament is a possibility but not something fans should expect to see, considering how tough the conference is every year. Coach Epley has set a precedent of making the NCAA Tournament, and this team has all the pieces to do it. The past three seasons the Gamecocks made it to the Round of 32, and I believe that they will at least match that this coming season.
Players to watch
Caroline Daily — Daily will be looked at as one of the leaders of this team as she enters her senior season. She played the No. 1 spot for the team last year and posted a 6-19 record. That may look bad on paper, but the SEC is so revered that her performance was still good enough to finish ranked No. 71 in the country. I anticipate a jump in the win column this coming season
Hadley Berg — The junior from California primarily held down the No. 5 spot last season where she posted a 25-8 record. She will be relied upon in 2016 as an integral player on the team as the Gamecocks make their push for another NCAA Tournament bid.
Know the coach
Kevin Epley was an All-Southwestern Conference player at Southern Methodist University during his senior season in 1996. He started his coaching career in 1998 as an assistant at Alabama. It didn’t take him long to work his way up the coaching ranks. By 2000, he was the head coach of Fresno State’s women’s tennis team. He coached there for three years before taking the same position at William & Mary. He worked there until the Gamecocks offered him the job in 2012. In his twelve-year career, he has a 215-101 record, twelve straight NCAA Tournament appearances, and six conference championships.