Gamecocks face Arkansas in third round of SEC Tournament Friday

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 7 South Carolina women’s tennis (19-5, 11-2 SEC) will face Arkansas (9-15, 4-10 SEC) in the third round of the 2018 SEC Tournament at 12 p.m. Friday in Knoxville, Tenn.

As the No. 3-seed in the tournament, South Carolina received a first and second round bye, while No. 11-seed Arkansas defeated Missouri and Auburn on Wednesday and Thursday to advance to the third-round match.

The Gamecocks swept the Razorbacks, 4-0, at the Carolina Tennis Center on March 31. In that match, South Carolina won the doubles point, and Hadley Berg, Paige Cline and Rachel Rohrabacher won their singles matches in straight sets to secure the sweep.

South Carolina holds a three-match winning streak over Arkansas dating back to March 5, 2016.

The Gamecocks are in the midst of a historic season, starting 10-0 in the league for the first time in program history. At 11-2 in the league, South Carolina finished the SEC regular season tied for second place with Florida, which is tied with the 1996 team for the best finish in school history in the regular season standings.

Last season, South Carolina was eliminated by Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament semifinals. With a first and second round bye, the Gamecocks defeated Kentucky, 4-3, in the third round on April 22, 2017, but were edged out by Vanderbilt in the semifinals in Nashville, Tenn.

If they win Friday, the Gamecocks will have posted consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time since winning 28 in 1981-82 followed by 22 in 1982-83. A win would mark the ninth 20-win season in school history and the sixth time Kevin Epley has won at least 20 matches in a season in his 14-year career as a head coach.