May 22, 2007

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — University of South Carolina sophomore Gira Schofield begins play in the 64-person NCAA Singles Championship on Wednesday in Athens, Ga. Schofield is pitted against UCLA’s Tracy Lin in a 5 p.m. first-round match.

Schofield and Lin have never met as college players. Last fall, Schofield took on the first and only Bruin she has faced in her two years during the first round of qualifying for the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships. She was a 6-4, 6-1 winner over Ashley Joelson, who plays No. 4 singles for UCLA.

Lin plays two singles for the Bruins, who face Georgia Tech in tonight’s NCAA final at 7 p.m. Lin, who is ranked No. 40 in the nation, helped her squad stun the tournament’s No. 1 seed and three-time defending champion Stanford in the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-4 win against 17th-ranked Anne Yelsey.

Schofield’s current ranking of 47th is her highest of the spring and second-best for the entire 2006-07 season. She is 17-15 entering the tournament and owns seven victories against players currently ranked among the country’s top 125. Schofield became just the second Gamecock to snag first-team All-SEC honors since the school joined the league for the 1991-92 academic year.

Schofield is making her second appearance in the NCAA Singles Championship after becoming just the second Gamecock to make the field as a freshman in 2006. She lost in the first round last year to Anna Lubinsky of Texas A&M by scores of 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.