March 9, 2007

ATHENS, Ga. — South Carolina’s women’s tennis team suffered a 5-2 setback to No. 3 Georgia on Friday in Athens, Ga. The Gamecocks had their three-match winning streak snapped in the process and fell to 8-3 overall and 2-1 in the Southeastern Conference. The Bulldogs stayed undefeated with their 10th victory and are 3-0 in the league.

In doubles, Georgia’s No. 2 doubles team of Monika Dancevic and Kelley Hyndman recorded an 8-3 victory against Laura Ganzer and Vanessa Pinto. The Gamecocks responded when their 28th-ranked tandem of Gira Schofield and Ana Marija Zubori topped 15th-rated Yvette Hyndman and Darya Ivanov 8-3 at the top slot. The Bulldogs, though, took a 1-0 lead when Natalie Frazier and Naoko Ueshima downed Megan McGavock and Natasa Vuckovic by an 8-5 count on court 3.

Dancevic made the Bulldogs’ lead 2-0 when she handed Pinto, a freshman, the first loss of her career at two singles by scores of 6-2, 6-3. Ueshima moved Georgia to within one point when she defeated Miranda Gutierrez 6-1, 6-0 at No. 6 singles.

Carolina struck back with its first point of the match courtesy of Vuckovic’s 7-5, 6-3 win over No. 42-ranked Ivanov on court 4. Ivanov is the second-highest ranked opponent Vuckovic has beaten in her career. As a freshman last year, Vuckovic downed a player ranked 41st at the SEC Fall Coaches Classic.

Frazier gave Georgia the win with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph at No. 1 singles versus Schofield. South Carolina made the score 4-2 when McGavock scored a 6-4, 6-2 win from Kelley Hyndman at the fifth spot. The final match at three singles went to Yvette Hyndman after she recovered from a 6-4 loss in the first set to Zubori to win 6-4, 7-5 in the final two.

The Gamecocks return to action Sunday when they take on No. 16 Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., at 1 p.m.

#3 Georgia (10-0, 3-0 SEC) def. #53 South Carolina (8-3, 2-1 SEC), 5-2

Singles
1. #10 Natalie Frazier, UG, def. #119 Gira Schofield, USC, 6-3, 6-3
2. #50 Monika Dancevic, UG, def. #102 Vanessa Pinto, USC, 6-2, 6-3
3. #60 Yvette Hyndman, UG, def. Ana Marija Zubori, USC, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
4. Natasa Vuckovic, USC, def. #42 Darya Ivanov, UG, 7-5, 6-3
5. Megan McGavock, USC, def. Kelley Hyndman, UG, 6-4, 6-2
6. Naoko Ueshima, UG, def. Miranda Gutierrez, USC, 6-1, 6-0

Order of finish: 2, 6, 4, 1, 5, 3

Doubles
1. #28 Schofield/Zubori, USC, def. #15 Y. Hyndman/Ivanov, UG, 8-3
2. #38 Dancevic/K. Hyndman, UG, def. #44 Laura Ganzer/Pinto, USC, 8-3
3. Frazier/Ueshima, UG, def. McGavock/Vuckovic, USC, 8-5

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3