COLUMBIA, S.C. - North Florida women's tennis prepares for No. 14 South Carolina in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at 1 p.m. at the Carolina Tennis Center.

MATCH DAY CENTRAL
FRIDAY, MAY 12 - 1 p.m.
WHAT: North Florida (15-8) at South Carolina (18-8)
WHERE: Columbia, S.C. (Carolina Tennis Center)
FOLLOW: Watch (no audio)
TOURNAMENT PAGE

THE SERIES: South Carolina leads 2-0
Last Meeting: South Carolina, then ranked No. 16, topped North Florida, 4-0, in the early part of the regular season.

QUICK HIT
- The Ospreys rallied from a 3-0 deficit to defeat top-seeded FGCU in the conference tournament to earn its third straight ASUN automatic bid and sixth in seven years.
- Five players earned ASUN All-Conference honors including first team selections in Michelle Valdez and Rafaela Gomez.
- North Florida is looking for its first NCAA victory in program history.
- Senior Quetzali Vazquez paces the team with 21 singles wins, while classmate Michelle Valdez owns 20 victories with 12 coming in dual matches.
- In doubles play, Valdez and Kinga Gartner own a 12-2 mark in the No. 3 position, while Vazquez and Luise Intert are 13-7.
- Intert is on a nine-match win streak with an 8-0 mark in the No. 5 singles spot.

OPPONENT NOTES

• This season marks South Carolina's 27th overall NCAA Tournament appearance and the fifth time it has qualified for the postseason under head coach Kevin Epley.
• The Gamecocks have reached the second round in the last three seasons and in eight of their last nine appearances overall.
• South Carolina has advanced past the regional twice, most recently in 2009 when Carolina reached the NCAA Quarterfinals.
• The Gamecocks posted an 8-5 league record and finished fourth in the SEC for the second-consecutive season.
• South Carolina maintained a top-15 ranking for the last five weeks of the season.
• The Gamecocks are led by Mia Horvit, an All-SEC second team and All-Freshman team honoree. Horvit finished the season with a 22-11 record in singles play, including an 11-10 record in dual-play and five wins in the No. 1 spot.

LAST MEETINGS
January 21, 2017
1. #16 Ingrid Martins (SC) def. #58 Michelle Valdez (UNF) 6-2, 6-1
2. Quetzali Vazquez (UNF) vs. #62 Mia Horvit (SC) 3-6, 1-4, unfinished
3. Luise Intert (UNF) vs. #125 Caroline Dailey (SC) 6-3, 0-3, unfinished
4. #100 Silvia Chinellato (SC) def. Rafaela Gomez (UNF) 6-3, 6-1
5. Kinga Gartner (UNF) vs. #122 Brigit Folland (SC) 5-7, 0-0, unfinished
6. Hadley Berg (SC) def. I Karangozishvili (UNF) 6-1, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Ingrid Martins/Caroline Dailey (SC) def. I Karangozishvili/Quetzali Vazquez (UNF) 6-1
2. Mia Horvit/Hadley Berg (SC) def. Luise Intert/Rafaela Gomez (UNF) 6-3
3. Michelle Valdez/Kinga Gartner (UNF) vs. Silvia Chinellato/Brigit Folland (SC) 4-3, unfinished

Singles match in Carolina Classic (Sept. 16, 2016)
1. Michelle Valdez (North Florida) def. I. Gamarra Martins (South Carolina) 6-3, 6-1
2. Brigit Folland (South Carolina) def. I Karangozishvili (North Florida) 6-3, 6-0
3. Rachel Rohrabacher (South Carolina) def. Quetzali Vazquez (North Florida) 6-3, 6-2
4. Rafaela Gomez (North Florida) def. Silvia Chinellato (South Carolina) 6-1, 6-1
5. Hannah Templeton (South Carolina) def. Luise Intert (North Florida) 6-3, 6-4
6. Lucia Montano (North Florida) def. Alison Mills (South Carolina) 6-3, 7-6

LOOKING AHEAD
With a win, the Ospreys play the winner of Wake Forest and Texas on Saturday. The winner of each regional advances to the Dan McGill Tennis Center in Athens, Ga., where the 16 teams will compete for the national championship May 18-24.