Saturday, April 17
#1 Charleston Southern vs. #4 Gardner-Webb
9 a.m. | Charlotte, N.C.
Live Stats

Sunday, April 18
#1 Charleston Southern vs. #2 Presbyterian OR #3 Radford
12 p.m. | Charlotte, N.C.
Live Stats

Charleston Southern begins their Big South title quest Saturday morning with an early 9 a.m. match against fourth-seeded Gardner-Webb in the 2021 Hercules Tires Big South Women's Tennis Championships semifinals round. Saturday's match with the Runnin' Bulldogs marks just the second time Charleston Southern will be the No. 1 seed in thechampionships after making a run to the title game in 2014 as the top seed.

Charleston Southern last made a semifinal appearance in 2017, the last time they were crowned regular season champions. The Bucs eventually fell to Winthrop in the championship match after defeating Presbyterian by a 4-0 score in the quarterfinals and downed Liberty 4-3 in the semifinals.

All-time Charleston Southern is 20-28 in the Big South Championships with nine appearances in the title match. The Bucs hold a 9-2 mark against the 2021 field (Presbyterian, Radford and Gardner-Webb) with a 2-1 advantage over the Runnin' Bulldogs having won back-to-back meetings including a 4-0 decision in the 2014 quarterfinals.

Charleston Southern sits tied 1-1 all-time in the tournament against Presbyterian and hold an unblemished 6-0 record against Radford. Their 20 wins in the Big South Championships are third-most all-time and the most among active Big South institutions ahead of Radford, UNC Asheville, Campbell, Gardner-Webb, Longwood, Presbyterian and Hampton.

The Buccaneers dominated the regular season in 2021 sweeping to go 6-0 and finish two matches ahead of the rest of the league. In their first meeting, Charleston Southern grabbed a 4-3 home decision over the Runnin' Bulldogs taking the doubles point then singles wins on courts one, three and four from Madalina Man, Luiza Fullana and Khyanna Singh. That March 6 win sparked a 3-0 conference slate at the Gary Clark Banks Sr. Tennis Center that also saw dominant 6-1 wins over preseason favorite Campbell and second-seeded Presbyterian.

Madalina Man and Tiffany Pyritz each finished the conference season 5-1 in singles play headlining a Buccaneer lineup that went 25-8 overall in conference matches. Every Buccaneer finished above .500 and five of the six in the CSU lineup had four-or-more wins. Man and Pyritz were two of just 10 student-athletes to finish with five singles wins over the six-match slate around the Big South.

In their 4-3 win at Radford the Bucs used four singles matches to overcome their first doubles point loss of the conference season as senior Michelle Schmitz delivered the match-clinching point with a three-set 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win. Her efforts on the road at Radford and Longwood earned her Big South Player of the Week following the win.

Charleston Southern followed that key road win with a dominant 6-1 defeat of Presbyterian just three days later in the de facto regular season title match. The Bucs took the doubles point in quick fashion then kept their foot on the gas taking the fight to the Blue Hose all afternoon. Five Bucs had singles wins with four coming in straight sets clinching their first regular season title since the 2017 season and fifth in program history.

Charleston Southern is 1-1 all-time against the Blue Hose facing their I-26 rivals in back-to-back seasons winning the first match 4-0 in a No. 2 vs. No. 7 quarterfinals match in 2017 then fell by a 4-2 score in the 2018 quarterfinals.

The Bucs also hold a 6-0 record against the Highlanders of Radford in their championships history having last played in the 2013 quarterfinals – a 4-0 Charleston Southern victory. The Bucs and Highlanders also met in the 2010 semifinals (CSU 4, Radford 0), 2009 quarterfinals (CSU 4, Radford 0), 2001 quarterfinals (CSU 4, Radford 0), 2000 quarterfinals (CSU 4, Radford 0) and 1998 semifinals (CSU 4, Radford 3).

Of their six wins against the Highlanders, the last five have come in dominant 4-0 fashion dating back to the 2000 quarterfinals played on the campus of Elon University.

Charleston Southern's quest begins Saturday at 9 a.m. in the No. 1 vs. No. 4 matchup where the winner will advance to the Sunday Championship at noon taking on the winner of Presbyterian and Radford in the No. 2 vs. No. 3 matchup.

Charleston Southern Big South Championships By the Numbers
Overall Record: 20-28
Championship Match Appearances: 9
Last Championship Appearance: 2014
In the state of North Carolina: 10-8

Record vs…
Gardner-Webb: 2-1 (W 2)
Presbyterian: 1-1 (L 1)
Radford: 6-0 (W 6)