Badgers open season with Carolina Kickoff

Friday, January 13

Columbia, S.C.

Wisconsin Badgers

South Car./Wake Forest/G. Tech

Wisconsin's Anisha Apte serves the ball

Photo by: Meg Kelly

Badgers open season with Carolina Kickoff

January 11, 2023 | Women's Tennis

Wisconsin will face South Carolina, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest in three-day invitational

By: Julian Issar

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 2023 Badger women's tennis season is right around the corner! The team travels to South Carolina for the Carolina Kickoff, which is a three-day invitational, to commence the spring season. The event starts Friday, January 13 and runs until Sunday, January 15.

Here are five things to know:

1. PLAYERS TO WATCH: Freshman ace Maria Sholokhova and senior Ava Markham look to capitalize off a successful fall season. Both Badgers were recognized for their stellar play during the fall season and earned a Division I ITA Singles Rankings. Sholokhova is ranked 59th in the country while Markham checks in at 82nd.

2. LOOKING BACK: Wisconsin is coming off a successful 2022 campaign. The Badgers finished with an overall record of 17-9 and an impressive conference record of 8-3. Highlights from the 2022 season included a 4-3 win over No. 36 SMU, a 6-1 win over No. 61 Penn State, a big 4-3 rivalry win against No. 61 Minnesota and a Big Ten Tournament win over Illinois, 4-1.

3. STRAIGHT FROM HEAD COACH KELCY MCKENNA: "This summer was really important and I think they put in a ton of work just committing to play WTA events and UTR events… I think that's been a big reason we've been able to go from 252 in the ITA rankings to where we're at now at 41. Overall, it's pretty fun to watch our entire team compete."
🎥 Watch the entire media conference

4. HOW TO FOLLOW: Follow this weekend's matches via livestream and the tournament webpage.
Follow Wisconsin women's tennis on Twitter (@BadgerWTennis) and Instagram (@badgerwtennis).

5. UP NEXT: The Badgers will open match play when they travel to Milwaukee to face Marquette on Thursday, January 19 followed by a road doubleheader against North Carolina and Samford in Auburn, Ala. on Saturday, January 21.