Alabama
University of Florida
Alabama Women’s Tennis Set to Host No. 18 Florida and No. 10 South Carolina
3/21/2018 11:06:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The Crimson Tide will face the Gators on Thursday at 5 p.m. CT, and will then battle the Gamecocks on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women's tennis team will host the reigning NCAA Champions No. 18 Florida on March 22 at 5 p.m. CT, and will then face No. 10 South Carolina on March 24 at 1 p.m. CT at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
PROMOTIONS
Thursday: Bama Salute Day and free Taco Mama
Saturday: Greek Day and free Philly Boyz
LAST TIME ON THE COURT
The Crimson Tide fell to the 13th-ranked Auburn Tigers, 4-0, last Friday at Yarbrough Tennis Center. After dropping the doubles point, AU won three-straight singles matches to pick up the conference win.
CRIMSON TIDE NOTABLES
Senior Andie Daniell continues to dominate the field, as she leads Alabama with a 12-4 mark in dual play at No. 1, while senior Smith Hinton and sophomore Alba Cortina-Pou have both won 10 singles matches apiece. In doubles play, Hinton and sophomore Jacqueline Pelletier have led the charge with a 9-4 record, including an 8-4 mark at No. 3.
IN THE RANKINGS
Alabama women's tennis was featured on the Oracle/ITA Division I Women's Team computerized rankings for three-straight weeks this season. The Crimson Tide landed at No. 49 with a 14.00 average on March 6 and came in at No. 37 with a 17.75 average on Feb. 27. The Crimson Tide earned its highest rank at No. 31 with a 20.41 average in the first computerized rankings on Feb. 20.
SERVING UP 2018
Alabama opened its spring season on Jan. 13 after a successful fall slate, where the Crimson Tide competed in three tournaments, including the 30th Annual Roberta Alison Fall Classic at the end of October.
Alabama returns three letterwinners and welcomes five newcomers, including four transfers, to 2018.
Daniell comes back to the Capstone as the Tide's top player, and ranked as high as No. 89 this season in the ITA singles national rankings (Feb. 7). Daniell opened the fall season ranked at No. 37 on the ITA preseason list and finished fall play, 9-2, defeating one ranked opponent (No. 45 Lindsey Hodge, Rice University), while reaching the semifinal round of the 2017 ITA Southern Regional Championships.
Alabama tennis will use PlaySight, a live streaming technology, which provides the ability to live stream in high definition and record/store practice and match sessions to the indoor and outdoor tennis facilities.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – FLORIDA
Thursday's match will mark the 42nd meeting between the two conference squads, and the Gators lead the series 40-1. In the last meeting, the Gators defeated the Tide, 4-0, on March 31, 2017. In 2014, the Crimson Tide took down Florida for the first time in program history in a 4-3 decision.
Florida enters Thursday's contest with a 10-5 overall record and is tied for second in the conference with a 5-1 mark.
No. 19 Anna Danilina leads the Gators with a 20-8 mark and has beaten seven ranked opponents since the fall. In doubles, Danilina and her teammate Victoria Emma sit as the 23rd-ranked pairing in the nation with a 9-4 dual record at No. 1.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – SOUTH CAROLINA
Saturday's match will mark the 27th meeting between Alabama and South Carolina, and the Gamecocks lead the series 14-12. In the last meeting on April 2, 2017, USC edged the Tide, 4-3, in Columbia, S.C.
South Carolina enters Saturday's contest as the 10th-ranked team in the nation with a 14-3 record, and currently leads the conference with an unblemished 6-0 mark.
Megan Davies and No. 31 Hadley Berg have a combined 44 wins as Davies owns a 24-6 record and Berg sports a 20-4 mark in singles action since the fall. In doubles play, Davies and teammate Rachel Rohrabacher lead the way with an 8-1 mark in dual action.
COMING UP
Alabama will hit the road next weekend to face No. 9 Georgia on March 29 and No. 37 Tennessee on March 31.
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaWTN on Twitter and Facebook and AlabamaWTN on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
