Gamecocks Beat No. 1 Ranked Georgia 4-2 To Advance To SEC Women’s Tennis Tournament Championship Match

April 20, 2002

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 17th-ranked South Carolina women’s tennis team played its way into the 2002 SEC Tournament Championship match with a thrilling 4-2 win over top-seeded and nationally first-ranked Georgia Saturday afternoon at the Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center on the USC campus.

Carolina (16-6) will face second-seeded Florida for the tournament championship. The Gators, ranked third in the nation, beat sixth-ranked Vanderbilt 4-3 Saturday morning. Georgia falls to 22-2 overall, losing for the first time in their past eleven matches.

USC, which lost to Georgia 4-3 in the regular season, battled to a 1-0 lead in the match behind two wins in doubles action. At No. 1 doubles, the 26th-ranked team of Jennifer Radman and Kathy Boyanovich won their fourth straight match against a Top 20 team, beating Georgia’s 14th-ranked Agata Cioroch and Lori Grey 8-5. USC claimed the point at No. 3 doubles when Katarina Markovski and Ayako Suzuki beat Anne Nguyen and Alexandra Smith, 8-6.

Singles action saw the Gamecocks win first sets in four matches, needing only three singles wins to take the dual match. Lynn-Yin Tan secured the first win, beating Tina Hojnik for the second time in as many weeks, 6-3, 6-3. USC followed that win with a win at No. 2 singles by Jennifer Radman. Ranked 66th in the nation, Radman downed 32nd-ranked Mariel Verban 6-4, 6-1.

The Gamecocks won the dual match when No. 3 seed Kathy Boyanovich finished off 48th-ranked Anne Nguyen, 6-4, 6-4.

Georgia did get wins at No. 1 and 5 singles to account for the 4-2 final margin. Carolina’s Tamara Sutton led one set and 3-2 in the second against Alexandra Smith when play was halted.

The win over the nation’s top ranked team is a first for the USC women’s tennis program, as is their appearance in the tournament championship match. Previously the Gamecocks had advanced to two semifinals before this weekend. USC meets Florida Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in Columbia for the championship. Live match coverage is available on the Internet at www.uscsports.com.

Match Results — April 20, 2002

SEC Tournament Semifinals

#17 USC 4, #1 Georgia 2

Doubles

1. (26) Jennifer Radman/Kathy Boyanovich (USC) def. (14) Agata Cioroch/Lori Grey (UGA) 8-5

2. (41) Lynn-Yin Tan/Jodi Kenoyer (USC) led (32) Tina Hojnik/Mariel Verban (UGA) 8-7, susp.

3. Katarina Markovski/Ayako Suzuki (USC) def. Anne Nguyen/Alexandra Smith (UGA) 8-6

Singles

1. (7) Agata Cioroch (UGA) def. (69) Katarina Markovski (USC) 6-2, 6-3

2. (66) Jennifer Radman (USC) def. (32) Mariel Verban (UGA) 6-4, 6-1

3. Kathy Boyanovich (USC) def. (48) Anne Nguyen (UGA) 6-4, 6-4

4. Lynn-Yin Tan (USC) def. Tina Hojnik (UGA) 6-3, 6-3