April 21, 2006

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The South Carolina women’s tennis team bowed out of the SEC Tournament on Friday, suffering a 4-0 setback to No. 4-ranked Florida in the quarterfinals in Gainesville, Fla. Florida improved to 19-1 on the year, while USC dropped to 12-10.

The top-seeded Gators jumped on top 1-0 by winning the No. 2 and 3 doubles positions. First to finish was the duo of Keri Robison and Nina Suvak by an 8-2 score against Megan McGavock and Justine Walsh on court three. Lolita Frangulyan and Diana Srebrovic clinched the point with an 8-1 decision over Miranda Gutierrez and Christyn Lucas.

Florida took a 2-0 advantage after Whitney Benik dispatched Lucas 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3 singles, and Srebrovic put the Gators on top 3-0 with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Natasa Vuckovic at the second position. Suvak provided the clinching point with a 6-3, 6-1 win on court four against Gutierrez.

USC’s Gira Schofield lost the first set 6-4 to Alexis Gordon at No. 1 singles, but was leading 2-0 in the second when play was suspended. On court five, McGavock lost her first set to Alex Liles 6-2 and was down 5-3 in the second. Walsh dropped the first set to Robison 7-5 and was down 5-2 in the second.

South Carolina will now wait to see if its streak of 11 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances will be extended to 12. The selections will be announced Wednesday, May 3, at 8:30 p.m. on ESPNEWS. Participants for the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships will be released the following day by no later than 6 p.m. on the NCAA’s Web site.

#4 Florida (19-1, 11-0 SEC) def. #39 South Carolina (12-10, 4-7 SEC), 4-0

Singles
1. #51 Gira Schofield, USC, vs. #14 Alexis Gordon, UF, 4-6, 2-0 suspended
2. #5 Diana Srebrovic, UF, def. Natasa Vuckovic, USC, 6-1, 6-3
3. #124 Whitney Benik, UF, def. Christyn Lucas, USC, 6-0, 6-1
4. Nina Suvak, UF, def. Miranda Gutierrez, USC, 6-3, 6-1
5. Megan McGavock, USC, vs. Alex Liles, UF, 2-6, 3-5 suspended
6. Justine Walsh, USC, vs. Keri Robison, UF, 5-7, 2-5 suspended

Order of finish: 3, 2, 4

Doubles
1. Schofield/Vuckovic, USC, vs. #41 Benik/Gordon, UF, 0-7 suspended
2. Lolita Frangulyan/Srebrovic, UF, def. Gutierrez/Lucas, USC, 8-1
3. Robison/Suvak, UF, def. McGavock/Walsh, USC, 8-2

Order of finish: 3, 2