Jan. 5, 2011

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina women’s tennis team will begin the 2011 season ranked 21st in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s poll. South Carolina opens the campaign Saturday, Jan. 22, hosting South Carolina State at 2 p.m. at the USC Field House.

Individually, four Gamecocks achieved national rankings. Junior Anya Morgina topped the charts at No. 37 in singles and doubles with partner freshman Dominika Kanakova. Both are career-high marks for each player. Junior Dijana Stojic received a No. 93 singles rating and freshman Katerina Popova came in at No. 117.

Morgina led the Gamecocks in both singles and doubles victories last fall with marks of 10-3 and 9-3. She won singles flights at the SEC Fall Coaches Classic and the Northwestern Wildcat Invitational. Morgina and Kanakova combined for a perfect 5-0 record and claimed their flight at the SEC event.

Stojic had a productive fall, going 6-3 in singles and 6-2 in doubles. She started the season by winning singles MVP honors at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic while finishing in third place at the Wildcat Invitational.

Popova won her first four matches as a Gamecock, earning singles MVP runner-up accolades in Milwaukee. She ended the fall winning two of three in both the Furman Fall Classic and the Northwestern tournament to finish 7-2 in singles. Popova put together a 6-4 record in doubles matches.

South Carolina will look to extend its streak of consecutive NCAA appearances to 17 in 2011. The Gamecocks’ current 16 in a row is tied for the 11th longest active streak in the country. Carolina reached the second round last season and earned a final national billing of 19th to mark the school’s 20th top-25 finish in 32 years.