May 10, 2002
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 13th-ranked South Carolina women’s tennis team makes their 12th NCAA Tournament appearance when they host Hampton Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in a first round match at the Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center on the USC campus. Florida State and VCU meet in the day’s first match at 10:00 a.m.
The winner of the Hampton/USC match will face the winner of Florida State/Virginia Commonwealth. The second round match is set for Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
South Carolina (16-7) vaulted into host status with an impressive run to the SEC Tournament finals two weeks ago when they knocked-off 13th-ranked Tennessee and top-ranked Georgia. In fact, USC and Georgia are the only teams to beat a No. 1 ranked team this season.
The Gamecocks are an even 11-11 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, including an impressive 9-2 in opening matches of the NCAA Tournament.
USC TENNIS NOTES
* Carolina, which is making their eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 12th overall, welcomes Hampton, Florida State and Virginia Commonwealth to Columbia May 11-12 for first and second round action at the Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center on the USC campus. USC faces Hampton in the first round. Overall, Carolina is 9-2 all-time in opening matches in the NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks have never met Hampton or VCU in NCAA Tournament play, but are 2-0 against the Seminoles in NCAA play. USC’s all-time NCAA Tournament mark is an even 11-11.
* Beating Number One: The Gamecocks’ SEC Tournament semifinal win over then top-ranked Georgia marked the first time the women’s tennis program has ever knocked off the nation’s best team. Additionally, it was USC’s first win over the Bulldogs in four matches in conference tournament action.
* USC, UGA Only Ones To Do It: With the ITA’s decision to overturn VCU’s win over Georgia earlier in the year due to an invalid lineup, the Gamecocks officially are one of only two teams to beat the nation’s No. 1 squad this year. Georgia beat Stanford on Feb. 9 and later beat then No. 1 Florida to finish the regular season, but the ‘Dogs would have still been No. 1 at the time had it not been for the tainted VCU result affecting the polls.
* More From The SEC Tourney: Not only did USC stun No. 1 Georgia and beat Top 15 Tennessee for the second time in two weeks, but USC singles and doubles teams recorded marquee wins as well. Highlighting the weekend was Jennifer Radman, who scored wins over No. 22 Alison Ojeda (UT) and No. 32 Mariel Verban (UGA). Radman also teamed with Kathy Boyanovich to knock-off the Lady Vols’ Vilmarie Castellvi/Alison Ojeda at No. 1 doubles.
* The Big Finish: No team in the country played a more difficult slate than did the Gamecocks down the stretch, and none performed as well as the garnet and black, either. USC beat the 10th, 13th and 1st ranked teams on their way to five wins in their final eight matches, compiling a solid NCAA resume. The average ranking for Carolina’s final eight opponents was 11th (based on rankings at time of match).
* Strong Regular Season Showing In SEC: USC’s fourth place SEC finish is their fourth all-time Top 4 finish, all of which have occurred in the past eight seasons (1995, ’96, ’99, ’02).
* Notching The ‘Bellringer’ Wins: Carolina’s regular season win over Tennessee marked their first win over a Top 10 team since March 26, 1999, when USC won at No. 8 Vanderbilt, 6-3. The Gamecocks followed that performance with a narrow regular-season finale loss to Florida (4-2) before notching two more marquee wins at the SEC Tournament.
* 1999 All Over Again?: The last time USC hosted an NCAA Regional was the 1999 season, which also marked the last time the Gamecocks held a No. 12 national ranking as they did last week. The ’99 campaign also saw the Gamecocks fall to Florida in the SEC Tournament.
* Sweep City: The Gamecocks broke out the brooms against the Western Division for the second straight season and for the third time overall in 11 SEC seasons. In fact, the Gamecocks have won 14 straight matches in interdivisional league contests.
* Impact Transfer: Just as anticipated, junior transfer Jodi Kenoyer has had a major impact on the USC lineup. The former University of Richmond team captain came to USC for more of a challenge, and she met those challenges with an impressive 7-3 SEC record and 24 wins overall, the team high. Kenoyer went 6-2 from her No. 5 spot in dual SEC action. She beat two ranked opponents (one fall win) on her way to a breakout season. Kenoyer won her final three matches of the regular season and did not lose consecutive matches all season.
* USC’s League Wins Leader: Junior Kathy Boyanovich turned in a stellar SEC campaign, going 7-3 while playing mainly from the No. 3 seed. “Boya” won seven straight matches during the season before dropping two of her last three down the stretch.
* Toppling Ranked Foes: Senior Jennifer Radman compiled her best SEC season in her four-year career, going 6-3 against the nation’s best. Radman scored wins over two ranked SEC foes, including Tennessee’s 15th-ranked Alison Ojeda in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1.
* More Ranked Players Fall: USC’s No. 1 doubles team of Jennifer Radman and Kathy Boyanovich has been giant killers this season, beating six ranked opponents, including two Top 5 duos.
* Elite Company: Tamara Sutton reached the 20-win mark for the fourth time in her career, becoming the fourth member of the 90-win club. Sutton was an impressive 5-2 in three-set matches in 2002.
* Still A Force: Katarina Markovski, who’s No. 13 national ranking earlier in her career is the highest for any Gamecock women’s tennis player, beat four ranked opponents this season, tied with Radman for team high. Markovski’s top win came at Kentucky when she beat 26th-ranked Carolina Mayorga. The Valjevo, Yugoslavia, native took four other ranked players to three sets before falling.
* Solid In Doubles: The Gamecocks won 18 of 22 doubles points this year after going 20-for-24 in 2001, sending one of the most formidable collegiate doubles lineups onto the court over the past two seasons.
* Break Out The Eraser: USC’s record books have taken a hit this year. Jennifer Radman has pulled into sole possession of second place in all-time doubles wins … Radman trails only current teammate Lynn-Yin Tan who is the all-time record holder … Other current Gamecocks still continue to shake-up the career wins lists … With a win at Charleston, Tamara Sutton became just the fourth player to ever record 90 wins … As a team, Radman and Kathy Boyanovich are 44-20, good for second place on the career team doubles wins list (high mark is 60 by Eichelberger/Tan).
* Can You Count To 300?: Carolina head coach Arlo Elkins, who is the longest tenured women’s coach at USC, picked up his 295th career win against No. 10 Tennessee, only five shy of the 300-win mark.
* So Close: USC’s 4-3 regular season loss to then No. 2 Georgia provided a sense of deja-vu as the Bulldogs escaped Columbia with a one-point win for the second straight season. The Gamecocks are no strangers to the tight finishes as USC has played to nine one-point matches in the past two seasons.
* Challenging Slate: The Gamecocks’ 2002 schedule was one of the toughest in recent memory, with the garnet and black matching wits with 18 teams ranked in the ITA poll as of April 24. Carolina took on 15 Top 50 foes and USC’s six losses all came against teams that spent time in the nation’s Top 15.
* One Of Best Ever: Lynn-Yin Tan has rewritten the USC record books. Tan became the school’s all-time career doubles wins leader when she put away a winning forehand against Furman on February 6. The win topped the mark of 86 wins established by Leigh Eichelberger just one year ago.
* More With The ‘Chin-Dog’: Tan also won her 100th-career match with a win in the Georgia match, becoming just the third USC player to reach the century mark.
* Take That, Tigers:Carolina’s dominant 6-1 win over arch-rival Clemson on February 9 marked the ninth consecutive regular season win for the Gamecocks over the Tigers.
* Hot Start: With the win over Arkansas USC improved to 4-0 in the SEC for third time in 11 SEC seasons.
* Charging Out Of The Gates: The Gamecocks won their 11th-straight home opener with a 6-1 trouncing of BYU on January 25. That match improved USC to 8-2 all-time in January dual matches.
* Milestone Win: Head Coach Arlo Elkins picked up his 290th-career win with USC’s 6-1 win over LSU.
