April 15, 2006

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina women’s tennis team fell by a 4-0 score to the No. 3-ranked Florida Gators on Saturday at Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center in Columbia, S.C. USC finished the regular season with an 11-9 record overall and went 4-7 in the SEC, while Florida improved to 18-1 and won the SEC regular-season championship with a perfect 11-0 record.

The Gators took a 1-0 lead after winning the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles positions. At two, Lolita Frangulyan and Diana Srebrovic downed Miranda Gutierrez and Christyn Lucas 8-1. On court three, Keri Robison and Nina Suvak registered an 8-4 triumph over Megan McGavock and Justine Walsh. The No. 1 match between USC’s Gira Schofield and Natasa Vuckovic and Florida’s Alexis Gordon and Whitney Benik was suspended with the Gamecocks up 6-5.

Florida grabbed a 2-0 advantage after Robison took out Walsh 6-1, 6-0 at No. 6 singles. Srebrovic ousted Vuckovic 6-1, 6-3 on court two to put the Gators ahead 3-0, and minutes later, Gordon gave UF its fourth point with a 6-2, 7-5 triumph against Schofield at the No. 1 slot.

The remaining matches on courts three, four and five were suspended once Gordon won her match. On three, Lucas was leading Benik 1-0 in the third set and Gutierrez was up 2-0 in the third against Suvak on court four. Alex Liles held a 3-0 lead in the third set in her match with McGavock at the fifth spot.

South Carolina will next compete in the SEC Tournament in Gainesville, Fla., on Thursday. USC is seeded eighth for the event and will face ninth-seeded Mississippi at a time that has yet to be determined.

#3 Florida (18-1, 11-0 SEC) def. #40 South Carolina (11-9, 4-7 SEC), 4-0

Singles
1. #22 Alexis Gordon, UF, def. #53 Gira Schofield, USC, 6-2, 7-5
2. #3 Diana Srebrovic, UF, def. #122 Natasa Vuckovic, USC, 6-1, 6-3
3. Christyn Lucas, USC, vs. Whitney Benik, UF, 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 suspended
4. Miranda Gutierrez, USC, vs. Nina Suvak, UF, 3-6, 6-3, 2-0 suspended
5. Megan McGavock, USC, vs. Alex Liles, UF, 6-4, 0-6, 0-3 suspended
6. Keri Robison, UF, def. Justine Walsh, USC, 6-1, 6-0

Order of finish: 6, 2, 1

Doubles
1. Schofield/Vuckovic, USC, vs. #28 Benik/Gordon, UF, 6-5 suspended
2. #36 Lolita Frangulyan/Srebrovic, UF, def. Gutierrez/Lucas, USC, 8-1
3. #53 Robison/Suvak, UF, def. McGavock/Walsh, USC, 8-4

Order of finish: 2, 3