South Carolina women's tennis team's doubles pair Mia Horvit and Ingrid Gamarra Martins is the highest doubles ranking in program history for the Gamecocks.
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) polls announced on Feb. 20 that the No. 1 doubles pair Horvit and Gamarra Martins are ranked No. 2 in the nation for South Carolina.
So far, the pair has an overall record of 14-3.
“We’re getting good wins, and it’s just fun to be there in the corner, playing here, playing tennis and playing for South Carolina,” Gamarra Martins said.
Tennis is predominantly viewed as an individual sport in the U.S., but collegiate tennis strives to balance both individual work and team work by placing more emphasis on doubles matches at the beginning of the competition.
Collegiate tennis games operate on a best four out of seven match play system.
To save time, doubles pairs are only required to play one set, and the team that wins two doubles sets can begin singles match play with a 1-0 advantage.
“Ingrid and I, we live together and we play doubles together, so our chemistry together is great,” Horvit said. “We know where we’re moving and what we have to do, and I think just trusting each other is the main thing for doubles.”
Both Horvit and Gamarra Martins have developed their relationship outside of the court as roommates at 650 Lincoln.
“Mia and I, we are roommates for three years. We are really good friends,” Gamarra Martins said. “She’s like my sister, and it’s great that our doubles is working.”
Gamarra Martins is one of several USC student athletes who was neither born nor raised in the United States. The Brazilian native has found success in both doubles and singles match play over the four years she has spent at South Carolina.
In addition to the high doubles ranking, Gamarra Martins set another program record by moving up from No. 16 to No. 10 in national singles rankings.
“We don’t set goals about the rankings a lot,” Gamarra Martins said. “Set more goals, standards, that we have to accomplish every match, things that we have to do off and on the court.”
The doubles pair will be playing their final season together as Gamarra Martins is set to graduate this year.
However, the pair is more focused on the upcoming SEC and NCAA tournament matches than Gamarra Martins’ limited time on the women’s tennis team.
“We are just getting started,” Gamarra Martins said.