The recipe for success in the Southeastern Conference is plain and simple: experience, talent and leadership. With five returning starters and a talented core of newcomers, the 2002 edition of South Carolina women’s tennis has all the makings of a force to be reckoned with in the SEC.
Carolina Head Coach Arlo Elkins, who enters his 19th season at the helm of the Gamecock ship, has for the first time during his tenure the luxury of five returning upperclassmen starters on the roster. When you also consider that Elkins added a talented core of newcomers to the mix, it is easy to see why expectations are high in the Carolina camp for another successful season.
“Everything is in place to have a good season,” said Coach Elkins. “I’ve never had this many seniors before. We should have really solid team leadership as everyone knows what to expect when we get into the SEC schedule, they know the players and the level of play they will be facing.”
The major point of focus for this Carolina squad continues to be the injury bug. For the most part, the Gamecocks have been relatively pain free over the past three seasons, but as the match counts continue to rise, the risk of injury does as well. Coach Elkins is cognizant of that fact.
“We hope we can continue to avoid the major injuries, but when you’ve got so many seniors who have played a great deal of tennis the past four years in college and all through juniors, they get beat up and then the risk goes up.”
On the court, the doubles game appears to again be the Gamecocks’ strength. A season ago USC won an astounding 20 doubles points in 24 matches, taking the point off such teams as Georgia, Wake Forest and Arizona State.
“We hope our doubles can continue where we left off last season,” said Elkins. “They were outstanding last year mainly due to good chemistry among the doubles teams we sent out there. We’ve already had Lynn-Yin Tan/Jodi Kenoyer beat some ranked opponents this fall, so we are already on our way to a great doubles record.”
The Roster
For a fourth and final season, it will again be the “fab four” recruiting class of 1998 that determines the fortunes for the Gamecock squad. The foursome, which has gained the valuable experience needed for success in the rugged SEC, is poised for another record breaking year. The four USC seniors have accumulated a combined 299 career singles wins (for a .635 win percentage) and 254 doubles victories (playing at a .718 clip). Those impressive numbers have paved the way for the historic consecutive NCAA appearances streak (which stands at seven, the most ever for any USC women’s team). Coach Elkins says the group is determined to finish their careers in style.
“Our seniors are especially excited about the year,” said the veteran coach. “Some of them may have a chance to play at higher levels, but for most of them this is their last go around and they want to go out strong.”
With the loss of just one senior from last year’s team (LEIGH EICHELBERGER, Center Valley, Penn., 15-9, 23-5) the Gamecocks have 87% of their singles wins back and 84% of their doubles wins. Four members of the USC squad have playing experience at the top three seeds, giving Elkins more flexibility than ever before. Additionally, Elkins has a potentially potent one-two punch at the top of the lineup.
Senior JENNIFER RADMAN (Stoney Creek, Ontario) is the top returnee. Ranked No. 51 in the ITA preseason polls, Radman stepped into the No. 1 seed last spring and saw her game develop accordingly. The 5 foot 11 inch Radman won eight matches in the top spot and was an impressive 21-11 in doubles action.
KATARINA MARKOVSKI (Valjevo, Yugoslavia) has recovered from injuries suffered last season and finished the fall with six straight wins, returning to the form that earned her a Top 20 ranking in the 1999-2000 campaign. LYNN-YIN TAN (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), the team leader in career singles wins (88, third all-time), is in position to reach second on that list and will easily surpass Eichelberger as the school’s all-time doubles wins leader.
TAMARA SUTTON (Miami, Fla.) is also quietly climbing the charts. With her solid nine-win fall, the Miami, Fla., native stands sixth all-time.
Juniors CATHERINE BROWN (Conway, S.C.) and KATHY BOYANOVICH (Lima, Peru) are the other returnees, both of whom have provided solid support in singles and doubles. Boyanovich has developed into a force on the court, teaming with Radman for a No. 9 preseason doubles ranking.
Carolina’s top addition this season has been junior transfer JODI KENOYER. The former University of Richmond standout impressed the coaching staff with her dedication and work ethic this fall, which led to an 11-win tournament mark. Freshmen MAGDA WOJDYLO and AUDREY GEORGE were also impressive in the fall as Wojdylo led the team in singles wins and George was second in doubles wins. Joining the team in January is sophomore transfer AYAKO SUZUKI, who played in the No.1 position at Texas Tech.
The Schedule
At first glance, USC looks to have a somewhat favorable schedule. The Gamecocks, who endured a challenging road slate last year featuring 16 out-of-town matches, are fortunate to play the SEC’s top four finishers from a year ago within the friendly confines of the Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center. Even though the Gamecocks won more matches on the road (9) than at home (6), Carolina was 6-2 in matches at Maxcy Gregg in 2001 for a .750 mark compared to just a .563 road mark, including an impressive 4-1 SEC mark.
“It’s just the way it lined up, but we must remember that you have to play very well to beat these SEC teams no matter where you play,” said Elkins. “A tennis court is the same home or away. We have to play hard and make the breaks go our way.”
Overall, the spring season gets underway early with a January 25 match against BYU and ends with the SEC Tournament in Columbia, S.C.
“We always have one of the tougher schedules in the Southeast if not the country,” added Elkins. “We start early this year with BYU, a nationally-ranked team. We always look forward to the challenge of the conference schedule and the tough out-of-conference matches.”
