May 9, 2007
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ON TAP THIS WEEK: The No. 25 University of South Carolina women’s tennis team will make its 13th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championship when it takes on No. 35 Wichita State University on May 12 at 10 a.m. in Coral Gables, Fla. No. 9 University of Miami is serving as one of 16 hosts for the first and second rounds of the 64-team bracket at Neil Schiff Tennis Center. The Hurricanes take on Alabama A&M University at 1 p.m. May 12 in the other half of the regional. The winners play May 13 at noon for a chance to be among the 16 teams that will compete for the national title in Athens, Ga., over May 18-22.
REGIONAL SCHEDULE OF PLAY:
Saturday, May 12
Match 1: South Carolina vs. Wichita State, 10 a.m.
Match 2: Miami vs. Alabama A&M, 1 p.m.
Sunday, May 13
Match 3: Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, noon
REGIONAL TEAM CAPSULES:
University of South Carolina
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Head Coach: Arlo Elkins
Record: 16-6
ITA Ranking: 25th
NCAA Appearance: 17th
Singles Players Ranked: Gira Schofield (47), Ana Marija Zubori (109)
Doubles Teams Ranked: Schofield/Zubori (35), Lucas/Vuckovic (57)
Wichita State University
Location: Wichita, Kan.
Head Coach: Chris Young
Record: 26-2
ITA Ranking: 35th
NCAA Appearance: 2nd
Singles Players Ranked: Madina Rakhim (63)
Doubles Teams Ranked: None
University of Miami
Location: Coral Gables, Fla.
Head Coach: Paige Yaroshuk-Tews
Record: 19-6
ITA Ranking: 9th
NCAA Appearance: 22nd
Singles Players Ranked: Audra Cohen (1), Laura Vallverdu (21), Audrey Banada (48)
Doubles Teams Ranked: Cohen/Vallverdu (17), Banada/Farah (23)
Alabama A&M University
Location: Normal, Ala.
Head Coach: Thomas Colvin
Record: 16-3
ITA Ranking: N/A
NCAA Appearance: 1st
Singles Players Ranked: None
Doubles Teams Ranked: None
HISTORY WITH THE TEAMS: South Carolina has little history with the other three squads in the regional. The Gamecocks have never played Wichita State or Alabama A&M and played Miami just five times. The Hurricanes have a 3-2 edge in the all-time series and won the last meeting in Columbia, S.C., by a score of 7-2 April 20, 1988. South Carolina and Miami met in 1979 and 1980 at the AIAW Championships, which determined the national champion before the NCAA introduced its own event in 1982, and the Gamecocks were 5-4 winners both times.
PLAYING IN THE NCAAs IN FLORIDA: The Gamecocks will be playing in the state of Florida during the NCAA Championship for the third time in the school’s post-season history. The first time was in 1990 in Gainesville, Fla., when USC won 6-0 against BYU in the round of 20 before losing 6-0 to UCLA in its next match. South Carolina’s last appearance in the Sunshine State also came in Gainesville in 1999 and resulted in a 5-1 loss to Georgia in the Sweet 16.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT HISTORY: The NCAA first held a championship for women’s tennis in 1982 in Salt Lake City. For the first six championships, the field consisted of just 16 teams and expanded to 20 starting in 1988. From 1988 to 1995, eight of the 20 teams selected played first-round matches and the other 12 received byes. From 1996 to 1998, the NCAA changed the format to include 58 teams, with 10 receiving automatic bids to the 16-team championship. The other six spots were determined through tournaments in six regions (East, Central, Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, West) with eight schools in each. In 1999, the NCAA adopted what is still the current format of a 64-team bracket where each team must play every round. First- and second-round matches are played at 16 campus sites with four teams each, and the round of 16 and beyond is held at one institution. Starting last year, the NCAA combined the men’s and women’s round of 16 and beyond at the same location over the same timeframe and included the individual championships there as well.
GAMECOCKS AND FLORIDIANS: South Carolina has several players who came to the school from Florida. In fact, four of the members of Gamecocks’ seven-player roster are from the Sunshine State, including Miami-native Christyn Lucas. Lucas attended Gulliver Preparatory beforing heading north to Columbia, S.C. Fellow senior Miranda Gutierrez is from Tampa and went to Tampa Catholic for high school. Carolina’s other two Floridians are Megan McGavock (Palm Beach Gardens/Palm Beach Gardens H.S.) and Gira Schofield (Boca Raton/American Heritage Boca Delray H.S.).
SCHOFIELD MAKES IT TWO IN A ROW: Sophomore Gira Schofield earned her second at-large bid to the NCAA Singles Championship this year. In 2006, she became just the second player in school history to compete in the tournament field as a freshman. The tournament draw is scheduled to be released May 22. Schofield and freshman Ana Marija Zubori also were selected as the second alternate duo for the NCAA Doubles Championship. South Carolina has not had a doubles team in the tournament since 2002.
SOUTH CAROLINA’S LAST MATCH: The University of South Carolina women’s tennis team suffered a 4-3 loss in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Friday, April 20, to the University of Tennessee in Lexington, Ky. The Gamecocks saw their record dip to 16-6 overall and the Lady Volunteers improved to 13-9. South Carolina started strong in the doubles at the first and second positions. On court 1, Gira Schofield and Ana Marija Zubori ran off five games in a row after the score was tied 2-2 against Caitlin Whoriskey and Zsofia Zubor. Christyn Lucas and Natasa Vuckovic snagged a 4-1 lead at No. 2 doubles against UT’s Blakeley Griffith and Samantha Orlin after five games. The Lady Vols were 8-0 winners at three doubles, which featured Ghizela Schutte and Connor Vogel taking on the Gamecocks’ Laura Ganzer and Megan McGavock. South Carolina was up 7-3 on court 1 and 5-3 on the second court when the match finished. Griffith and Orlin claimed four games in a row after trailing 5-3, but South Carolina managed to win the 13th game to keep itself in the match. The Lady Volunteers, though, were able to close out the match in the ensuing game to take the early 1-0 lead. The remaining doubles match at the top spot had Tennessee leading 8-7 after Whoriskey and Zubor won six games in a row. The two squads were at the changeover when the No. 2 doubles team from UT clinched the point. South Carolina got back into the match quickly in singles, winning first on court 2 with Zubori’s 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Schutte. It was her 30th victory of the season, making her the first Gamecock since Tracy Kotseos in 1994-95 to win 30 singles matches. Kotseos finished with a 30-11 record that season, and Zubori is currently 30-6. Vuckovic finished next within 15 minutes with a 6-1, 7-5 win against Vogel at the No. 3 slot. It upped her record to 22-6 this season and 18-3 in dual matches. Whoriskey tied the team score back up at 2-2 after she registered a 6-4, 6-1 win versus Ganzer on court 4. Miranda Gutierrez put South Carolina back on top after she made short work of Victoria Jones by scores of 6-3, 6-1 at the sixth spot, but Orlin deadlocked the score once again thanks to a 7-5, 7-5 win over McGavock at No. 5 singles. Schofield and Griffith’s contest on court 1 proved to be the deciding point. After Schofield won the first set 6-4, Griffith answered back with a 6-2 victory in the second and was up 1-0 in the third after Orlin won her match. Trailing 2-1, Schofield managed to come back with a break and held serve to lead 3-2. Griffith held in the sixth game and Schofield did likewise in the seventh. The next two games went to Griffith, but Schofield hung tough with a break after her opponent tried serving for the match. Schofield could not hold serve in the next game, however, and Griffith capitalized when she served for the match the second time.
THE STORY ON ZUBORI: Freshman Ana Marija Zubori was nearly untouchable leading up to South Carolina’s first weekend of SEC play. She had a streak of 38 consecutive games won when she took on Mississippi State’s Elna de Villiers. Zubori had her streak snapped in the first game but went on to win the next 11 en route to a 6-1, 6-1 win. Zubori has lost just nine sets this spring and won 19 of her last 22 contests. Overall for the 2006-07 season, Zubori is 30-6 in singles play and 15-1 against regional opponents. Her 30 victories in singles is the most by a Gamecock since 1994-95 when Tracy Kotseos had a 30-11 mark. A holder of dual citizenship from France and Serbia, Zubori has been equally successful with her doubles play by putting up a 21-11 record. She and Gira Schofield have been ranked as high as 18th in the country this season and are currently No. 35. In singles, Zubori stands No. 109 nationally and was 83rd at one point.
LIKING THE PALMETTO STATE: In addition to her stellar 30-6 overall singles record and 15-1 slate against regional opponents, freshman Ana Marija Zubori has enjoyed playing in the Palmetto State. In fact, she has lost just one collegiate match playing in South Carolina with a 17-1 mark. Playing in Columbia, S.C., Zubori is 14-1.
GIVING A STRONG FINISH: Senior Christyn Lucas is making the most of her final year of eligibility. Lucas is 18-9 overall in singles and been a consistent winner in duals with a 12-5 mark. The team’s 2005 MVP, Lucas has been just as successful in doubles playing with Natasa Vuckovic, as the duo is 18-4 and 16-3 in dual match-ups. The pair is Carolina’s regular No. 2 doubles team and is 13-3 at the position. Lucas’ 22 wins playing doubles is a personal single-season best as well. She and Vuckovic are ranked No. 57 in doubles.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Natasa Vuckovic won the second Southeastern Conference Player of the Week award in her career March 27. Vuckovic posted a 2-0 record in singles and doubles in helping the Gamecocks defeat LSU and Arkansas to earn the recognition. She upended Nicole Kantor from LSU 6-4, 7-5 at three singles and was a 6-1, 6-0 winner against Audrey Bordeleau of Arkansas playing the No. 4 slot. Vuckovic teamed with Christyn Lucas for doubles at the second position, and the duo’s victories proved critical in securing the doubles points for both contests.
GOOD TO BE A GAMECOCK: With a 16-6 record, South Carolina has its best record through 22 matches since 1995 when the squad finished 22-7 after being 19-3, reached the NCAA Sweet 16 and posted a year-end ranking of 11th. South Carolina went 8-3 in the SEC during the regular season for its second-most league wins in school history. The most was in 1996 when the Gamecocks capped a 9-2 campaign with a victory at Kentucky. Sixteen overall victories also is the most for Carolina since 2002 when the squad went 17-8.
ALL-SEC TEAMS: Gira Schofield was named to the All-SEC First Team this season, making her just the second player in school history to take home first-team honors. The other was Lynn-Yin Tan in 1999. Schofield was a second-team member as a freshman in 2006. Natasa Vuckovic was named to the All-SEC Second Team for the second year in a row, and Ana Marija Zubori appeared on the squad as well. Schofield and Vuckovic are just the second and third Gamecocks to receive multiple all-conference citations from the SEC since South Carolina joined th SEC in 1991-92. The 2007 All-SEC First and Second Teams are listed below.
All-SEC First Team
Ela Kaluder (Arkansas)
Fani Chifchieva (Auburn)
Monika Dancevic (Florida)
Diana Srebrovic (Florida)
Nina Suvak (Florida)
Natalie Frazier (Georgia)
Yvette Hyndman (Georgia)
Megan Falcon (LSU)
Gira Schofield (SOUTH CAROLINA)
Blakeley Griffith (Tennessee)
Amanda Fish (Vanderbilt)
Catherine Newman (Vanderbilt)
Amanda Taylor (Vanderbilt)
All-SEC Second Team
Alex Haney (Auburn)
Megan Alexander (Florida)
Csilla Borsanyi (Florida)
Anastasia Revzina (Florida)
Darya Ivanov (Georgia)
Joelle Schwenk (Kentucky)
Sarah Woestmann (Kentucky)
Ilona Somer (Mississippi)
Martina Banikova (Mississippi State)
Ana Marija Zubori (SOUTH CAROLINA)
Natasa Vuckovic (SOUTH CAROLINA)
Taka Bertrand (Vanderbilt)
RECORDS CHECK: With 30 singles victories so far, freshman Ana Marija Zubori is tied for seventh on the Gamecocks’ all-time single-season list. It is also the most wins in one season for a South Carolina player since 1994-95 when Tracy Kotseos went 30-11. Zubori is tied for 10th in combined singles and doubles victories as well with 51. Senior Laura Ganzer has a 25-9 record playing doubles this season, putting her in a tie for eighth place on the school’s single-season list. It is the most wins in doubles by a Gamecock since Jodi Kenoyer piled up 28 during 2001-02.
A TOUGH OUT FOR ANYBODY: Natasa Vuckovic has done more than just avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. She has been the most consistent winner for the Gamecocks during the spring, going 18-3 in dual matches and 9-1 against SEC opponents. Vuckovic had an 11-match winning streak prior to her three-set loss against Kentucky, but she rebounded two days later at Vanderbilt with a win over then-No. 38 Catherine Newman, the highest-ranked player Vuckovic has beaten in her career. Vuckovic is 22-6 overall for the 2006-07 season. She and senior Christyn Lucas form one of the Gamecocks’ most formidable doubles teams, as the duo is 18-4 overall and won nine in a row at one point this spring. In duals, Lucas and Vuckovic are 16-3 and 13-3 as South Carolina’s No. 2 squad. They had just one loss in SEC matches at 7-1.
SCHOFIELD’S BIG WINS: After battling injuries throughout the fall, Gira Schofield rebounded with a strong spring campaign for South Carolina. The sophomore has played every match of her career at No. 1 singles and gone 27-15 at the position. She made the field of 64 for the NCAA Singles Championship for the second year in a row thanks to several key victories this season. Schofield’s wins against opponents who currently own a national ranking include No. 16 Fani Chifchieva (Auburn), No. 35 Ela Kaluder (Arkansas), No. 37 Ilona Somers (Mississippi), No. 46 Martina Banikova (Mississippi State), No. 75 Kellie Schmitt (Marshall), No. 107 Ashley Joelson (UCLA) and No. 118 Laura Gioia (Furman).
WHAT IT TAKES TO BE ALL-AMERICA: All-America teams are awarded in tennis for singles and doubles play. No voting takes place, so the teams are decided based on the following criteria:
Singles
1. Top 16 seed in NCAA Singles Tourney, or
2. Reach round of 16 in NCAA Singles Tourney, or
3. Finish in top 20 of final ITA rankings
Doubles
1. Top eight seed in NCAA Doubles Tourney, or
2. Reach quarters of NCAA Doubles Tourney, or
3. Finish in top 10 of final ITA rankings
GAMECOCKS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: South Carolina is making its 13th consecutive appearance in NCAA play in 2007 and its 17th overall. Carolina is 15-16 in the tournament. The Gamecocks appeared in the first two tournaments in 1982 and 1983 and reached the quarterfinals in ’82, which remains the best showing in school history. The Gamecocks have reached the Sweet 16 five times, with their last appearance coming in 1999. In addition to making the NCAA field 13 times in a row, South Carolina has won 12 of its past 13 first-round matches.
IN THE RANKINGS: South Carolina is currently ranked 25th in the latest ITA rankings, which are determined using a computer average. It marks the fifth time in a row the Gamecocks have been among the top 25 after checking in for the first time of the season at No. 22. Individually, sophomore Gira Schofield and freshman Ana Marija Zubori are rated No. 35 as a doubles team, and Schofield is 47th in singles. Zubori is 109th in singles as well. Additionally, senior Christyn Lucas and sophomore Natasa Vuckovic are 57th as a doubles team.
IT’S ALL ABOUT CONSISTENCY: South Carolina extended its streak of consecutive NCAA appearances to 13 in 2007, which stands as the 11th-longest active streak in the country. Below is a look at the current streaks.
NCAA INDIVIDUAL HISTORY: Including this season, South Carolina has placed either a singles competitor or doubles team in 20 of 26 NCAA Individual Championships. Laura Berstein remains the only Gamecock to advance to the round of 16 in singles, doing so in 1983 in Albuquerque, N.M. In doubles, Helen Crook and Victoria Davies are the only USC duo to go as far as the semifinals, which happened in 1994 in Athens, Ga. Last year, Gira Schofield became just the second USC freshman to compete in the NCAA Singles Championship. Schofield will represent the Gamecocks in singles once again and hopes to make the doubles draw as well with Ana Marija Zubori as her partner. The duo is currently listed as the No. 2 alternate team for the championship.
