March 14, 2007
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina women’s tennis team faces College of Charleston on Thursday at Patriots Point Tennis Center in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., at 5 p.m. Thursday. The Gamecocks are coming off a 4-2 victory at then-No. 16 Tennessee that upped their overall record to 9-3 while moving their Southeastern Conference figure to 3-1. The Cougars are 6-1 and 2-0 in the Southern Conference.
Prior to defeating Tennessee for just the second time in Knoxville, Tenn., the Gamecocks lost a 5-2 decision to Georgia, now the top-ranked team in the land after beating then-No. 1 Florida on Sunday. Carolina began its season with a 5-0 record before dropping consecutive matches at N.C. State and Clemson. South Carolina posted a win against Marshall before opening SEC play with a pair of 7-0 triumphs over Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
CofC hosts a double-header with Southern Illinois and Ball State today before facing the Gamecocks. The Cougars’ one loss this year came in its season-opener at Clemson by a 7-0 score. Teams College of Charleston has beaten include Winthrop (5-2), South Carolina State (7-0), Albany (7-0), UNC Wilmington (4-3), Western Carolina (7-0) and Chattanooga (6-1).
The Gamecocks have won 16 straight against College of Charleston dating back to 1979. South Carolina and CofC have met each year since 1994, and the last two have favored the Gamecocks 7-0. During its current 16-match winning streak over the Cougars, the Gamecocks have never surrendered more than a point.
Freshman Ana Marija Zubori continues to lead Carolina in singles victories with a 22-4 record and is 9-1 in dual matches. She and Gira Schofield comprise the nation’s No. 28-rated doubles team thanks to a 15-3 mark. Zubori is 19-5 overall in doubles play and she and Schofield are 4-0 in SEC matches.
Natasa Vuckovic has come on strong for the Gamecocks playing at the No. 4 singles spot. She is 10-2 overall in duals and 7-0 at the fourth spot, including 4-0 against SEC competition. Versus Georgia, Vuckovic knocked off the country’s No. 42-ranked player in Darya Ivanov in straight sets. Vuckovic’s doubles play has been just as good with a 9-2 dual record playing primarily with Christyn Lucas.
South Carolina returns home after facing College of Charleston to play Troy at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center.
