March 12, 2009
Up Next
The No. 22 South Carolina women’s tennis team (7-4, 1-1 SEC) faces another tough weekend of SEC Eastern Division play when it hosts No. 15 Tennessee (8-1, 2-0 SEC) on Friday at 2 p.m. before taking on No. 2-ranked Georgia (11-1, 2-0 SEC) on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks began SEC play the weekend prior by splitting matches against Vanderbilt (L, 2-5) and Kentucky (W, 5-2). Both Tennessee and Georgia swept Ole Miss and Mississippi State last weekend. Tennessee’s only loss this season came in Coral Gables, Fla., against the Miami Hurricanes in the second round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Bulldogs suffered their lone loss of the year in the finals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Madison, Wis., to top-ranked Northwestern 4-1.
Last Time Out
The Gamecocks traveled to UNLV as part of their spring break for a match with the Lady Rebels on Wednesday. The Gamecocks recorded their first clean sweep at every position this season, the first time they did so since early in the 2008 campaign versus Winthrop. Gira Schofield, Ana Marija Zubori, Natasa Vuckovic and Ashley Miller all won in straight sets after the Gamecocks took the doubles point. Dijana Stojic and Miljana Jocic played super tiebreakers after splitting the first two sets in their matches. Stojic pulled of an 11-9 triumph after fighting off a match point for her opponent and Jocic battled to a 10-7 victory.
Tennessee Series History
The Lady Volunteers of Tennessee own a 19-16 edge in the all-time series with the Gamecocks and have a significant advantage over South Carolina in recent years. Tennessee is 12-4 in the last 16 meetings between the two schools. The Gamecocks managed a 4-2 win at UT in 2007, but the Lady Vols have claimed the last two matches by 4-3 scores. The last six match-ups between South Carolina and Tennessee have been extremely close with four of the scores ending 4-3 and the other two being 4-2 and 5-2.
Georgia Series History
Sunday will mark the 50th meeting between Georgia and South Carolina in women’s tennis. In fact, the Gamecocks have faced the Bulldogs more than any other team in their history, including archrival Clemson, who they have played 44 times. The series favors the Bulldogs 35-14 and since 1985, Georgia has dominated the meetings. After South Carolina won 7-2 in March 1985 against the Bulldogs, UGA has gone on to win 30 of the last 33 contests. The Gamecocks’ last win over Georiga was a memorable one, as it came in the 2002 SEC Tournament semifinals when Carolina hosted the event. The Bulldogs were the No. 1-ranked team in the nation and were dealt a 4-2 blow that landed the Gamecocks in their first SEC Tournament final. Georgia now comes into the match riding a nine-match unbeaten streak against South Carolina since losing that match.
Check out the PDF link at the top of the page for more information on Gamecock women’s tennis.
