May 19, 2009

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — South Carolina women’s tennis assistant coach Katarina Petrovic has been named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Southeast Region Coach of the Year. Petrovic is the first Gamecock assistant in school history to earn the honor.

Petrovic, who just completed her fifth season with the Gamecock coaching staff, has been the catalyst behind South Carolina’s influx of talented players during her tenure. A tireless recruiter, Petrovic helped bring four-time All-SEC performer Gira Schofield and three-time All-SEC honorees Natasa Vuckovic and Ana Marija Zubori to the school. The trio has earned multiple national rankings during their careers and Schofield and Zubori will compete in the NCAA Singles Championship starting Wednesday and Vuckovic and Zubori will play in the NCAA Doubles Championship beginning Thursday as well.

South Carolina has made the NCAA Tournament in each year with Petrovic on staff and advanced to at least the second round three of those years. This season, she and head coach Arlo Elkins helped elevate the program to new heights when the Gamecocks advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships and narrowly missed a trip to the Final Four following a 4-3 loss to Georgia.

Petrovic joined the Gamecock coaching staff in September 2004 after serving as the sports manager at the Michael-Ann Russell Community Center in North Miami Beach, Fla. She is a longtime member of the Gamecock tennis family, as Petrovic was a four-year letterwinner for the Gamecocks from 1999 to 2002.