April 22, 2010

ATHENS, Ga. — The 16th-ranked and fifth-seeded South Carolina women’s tennis team (15-7, 7-4 SEC) defeated No. 12-seeded Kentucky (2-20, 0-11 SEC) by a 4-0 score Thursday in the first round of the SEC Tournament at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. The Gamecocks will now face No. 15-rated and fourth-seeded Georgia (12-7, 8-3 SEC) on Friday at 10 a.m.

South Carolina began the match with wins on courts two and three to take the doubles point. Adriana Pereira and Madeleine Saari-Byström won first at three with an 8-0 decision against Elle Coldiron and Nicole Scates. Miljana Jocic and Anya Morgina closed out the doubles at the No. 2 spot by upending Christine Johnston and Megan Broderick 8-5.

The No. 1 doubles match on court one saw Carolina’s Ana Marija Zubori and Dijana Stojic tied 7-all with Caroline Lilley and Minnette Pienaar of Kentucky when the match was suspended.

In singles, Pereira needed less than 40 minutes to win 6-0, 6-0 against Coldiron on court five to make it 2-0 for the Gamecocks. Next, Saari-Byström finished off Scates 6-0, 6-2 at No. 6 singles to put South Carolina within a point of clinching the match. Zubori provided the winning point at No. 1 singles, defeating Broderick for the fifth time in six career match-ups by a 6-4, 6-2 score.

Stojic and Lilley never made it out of the first set once the matches were suspended, but Stojic did have a set point up 6-5 when play stopped on court two. Jocic won the first set 6-4 and led 2-0 in the second over Pienaar at No. 4 singles. Morgina lost her first set to Johnston 6-1 but rallied for a 5-3 advantage in the second set on court three before having the match called.

South Carolina has now advanced to at least the quarterfinals in 16 of 19 appearances in the SEC Tournament. The Gamecocks will look to end a 12-match losing streak to Georgia on Friday. The Bulldogs won the regular-season match-up in Athens by a 4-3 score April 9.

#16 South Carolina (15-7, 7-4 SEC) def. Kentucky (2-20, 0-11 SEC), 4-0

Singles
1. #48 Ana Marija Zubori, USC, def. Megan Broderick, UK, 6-4, 6-2
2. #108 Dijana Stojic, USC, vs. Caroline Lilley, UK, 6-5 suspended
3. #125 Anya Morgina, USC, vs. Christine Johnston, UK, 1-6, 5-3 suspended
4. Miljana Jocic, USC, vs. Minnette Pienaar, UK, 6-4, 2-0 suspended
5. Adriana Pereira, USC, def. Elle Coldiron, UK, 6-0, 6-0
6. Madeleine Saari-Byström, USC, def. Nicole Scates, UK, 6-0, 6-2

Order of Finish: 5, 6, 1

Doubles
1. #18 Stojic/Zubori, USC, vs. Lilley/Pienaar, UK, 7-7 suspended
2. Jocic/Morgina, USC, def. Broderick/Johnston, UK, 8-5
3. Pereira/Saari-Byström, USC, def. Coldiron/Scates, UK, 8-0

Order of Finish: 3, 2