WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The No. 39-ranked William & Mary women's tennis team hits the road for a pair of matches in the Palmetto State this weekend. The Green and Gold travels to Colonial Athletic Association foe Charleston on Saturday at 10 a.m., before heading to Columbia to take on No. 21-ranked South Carolina on Sunday at 11 a.m. Live stats and video will be available for the match-up with USC at GamecocksOnline.com.
 
Scouting the Tribe
The Tribe was ranked No. 39 nationally in the first computerized Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis National Team Rankings released on Tuesday. W&M sits at 4-5 on the year following a dominating 6-1 triumph over current No. 20-ranked Dartmouth. It was the first loss for the season for the Big Green. All five Tribe setbacks this season have come to teams ranked inside the top 40, including three in the top 20. W&M's losses this season have been to No. 14 Kansas, No. 16 N.C. State, No. 17 Duke, No. 29 Wake Forest and No. 40 Tulsa. In the triumph over Dartmouth, W&M claimed the doubles point, before receiving singles wins from junior Ekaterina Stepanova (No. 1), senior Marie Faure (No. 2), sophomore Lauren Goodman (No. 3), junior Maria Groener (No. 5) and freshman Natalia Perry (No. 6). Faure continues to lead W&M with a 14-8 singles ledger, while Stepanova and Goodman are a team-best 5-3 in dual-match play. The Tribe has won nine-straight matches against CAA competition over the last three seasons, including a 7-0 win over Elon in January. With its national ranking, W&M is the only ranked CAA team and is the highest rated team in the Commonwealth of Virginia, ahead of No. 44 Virginia Tech, Nov. 45 VCU and No. 50 Virginia.

Scouting Charleston
Charleston enters the weekend at 2-2 on the season, following a 6-1 win over Coastal Carolina on Feb. 16. The Cougars also defeated USC Upstate at home, 7-0, in January. CofC's losses came on the road at Wake Forest, 7-0, to open the season and 4-3 at home to Winthrop on Feb. 4. The Cougars will host Savannah State as part of a doubleheader with the Tribe on Saturday. Senior Liza Fieldsend, who is 2-2 at No. 1 singles, is CofC's top player. She was a First Team All-CAA selection last season and was also named the 2016 CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Charleston is 3-1 in dual-match play at the bottom three singles posts with Helena Nyikos, Rachel McNeely and Anastasia Palaska holding down those spots. In doubles, Fieldsend and McNeely lead the way for CofC at 3-1. The pair recently moved up to the No. 1 position and split the last two matches.
 
Series History: W&M vs. Charleston
The Tribe leads the all-time series with Charleston at 8-2 and has won the last three contests, including the two most recently in the CAA Tournament. Last season, the Green and Gold tallied a 4-3 victory over the Cougars in the CAA semifinals. W&M captured the doubles point and received singles wins at the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 spots. Junior Olivia Thaler clinched the Tribe win with a three-set victory at No. 5. In 2015, W&M bounced Charleston, 4-0, in the CAA Championship match. Saturday will be the Tribe's first trip to Charleston to face CofC.
 
Scouting South Carolina
South Carolina, which hosts No. 3 North Carolina on Saturday, enters the weekend at 6-1 on the year and ranked No. 21 nationally. The Gamecocks have spent every week of the 2017 campaign in the national top 25, including a season-high 16th to open the year. USC is coming off wins over ACC foes Virginia, 4-1, and Clemson, 7-0, each of the last two weekends. South Carolina's lone loss is to No. 21-ranked Arizona State during the ITA Kick-off Weekend at the end of January. Former W&M head coach Kevin Epley is in his fifth season leading the Gamecocks. As the Tribe head coach from 2003-2008, Epley guided the Green and Gold to five NCAA Tournament appearances and four CAA titles. The USC lineup features four nationally-ranked singles players and a nationally-ranked doubles team. Ingrid Gamarra Martins is the highest ranked Gamecock at No. 29 followed Mai Horvit at No. 100, Paige Cline at No. 110 and Silvia Chinellato at No. 119. Hadley Berg and Cline are the nationally-ranked doubles team at No. 27. Horvit leads the way for USC at 16-2 on the year, including a 4-1 mark at No. 1 singles. South Carolina is 28-5 in dual-match singles competition, including undefeated 6-0 records at No. 4 and No. 6.
 
Series History: W&M vs. South Carolina
The W&M-South Carolina series is all tied up at five apiece with the Tribe winning five of the last eight meetings. The teams square off for the fifth time in the last six seasons. The Gamecocks claimed wins in 2012 and 2014, while the Tribe upset No. 30 USC, 4-3, in 2013 and No. 28-ranked South Carolina, 5-2, last season. W&M won five of the six singles matches in 2016, including wins from Lauren Goodman (No. 2), Marie Faure (No. 3) and Olivia Thaler (No. 6). South Carolina won the last meeting in Columbia, 7-0, in 2014. The Tribe travels to Columbia for the third time, and USC leads the series at home, 2-0.