COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Intercollegiate Tennis Association released its 2024 preseason rankings and South Carolina is ranked fifth, the highest preseason ranking in program history.
The lofty ranking comes after the Gamecocks ended the 2023 season ranked eighth in the nation.
The 2023 season saw Carolina pitch a tent inside the top 10 of the ITA team rankings. The Gamecocks spent all of 2023 inside the top 10, peaking at #2 which marked the program’s highest ranking ever.
USC returns six members of a unit which reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships last season, Senior Toby Samuel returns after an All-America campaign which saw him qualify for both the singles and doubles in the NCAA Championships.
Another headliner returning is Connor Thomson who teamed with Samuel to reach #1 in the ITA doubles ranking for all but one week of the 2023 season. The duo also competed at Wimbledon, advancing to the second round.
South Carolina will begin the spring schedule this weekend, hosting the Gamecock Kickoff at the Carolina Indoor Tennis Center from Friday-Sunday. The round robin tournament will begin each day at 9:00 a.m. with admission free and open to the public.
Dual play will begin at home for South Carolina on Jan. 27th when the Gamecocks will host in-state rival Clemson during the first round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend.