March 22, 2007
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2007 SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN’S TENNIS NOTEBOOK
Upcoming Opponents: #32 LSU (8-5, 1-3 SEC) & #52 Arkansas (7-6, 0-4 SEC)
Dates: March 23 & 25 • Locations: Baton Rouge, La. & Fayetteville, Ark. • Times: 4 & Noon ET
ON TAP THIS WEEK: Two SEC opponents from the Western Division are on South Carolina’s schedule this week. The Gamecocks play at LSU on Friday at 4 p.m. ET and then take on the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks at noon ET Sunday in Fayetteville, Ark. The Gamecocks (11-3, 3-1 SEC) have won three in a row and six of their last seven matches.
VERSUS THE OPPOSITION:
LSU
Overall: 15-2
Home: 8-1
Away: 6-1
Neutral: 1-0
Last: W, 6-1, H, 2006
Streak: USC, 1 win
Arkansas
Overall: 16-3
Home: 8-1
Away: 5-2
Neutral: 3-0
Last: L, 3-4, H, 2006
Streak: UA, 1 win
ABOUT LSU: The LSU Tigers are ranked 32nd in the latest rankings and stand 8-5 overall with a 1-3 record against the SEC. Last week, LSU snagged a 6-0 victory from Minnesota and defeated Tulsa 6-1 at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. The Tigers boast the nation’s No. 2-ranked singles player in Megan Falcon, who is 13-0 this spring at the top singles position. Overall, Falcon has gone 24-2. Mykala Hedberg has played every match at two singles and gone 8-5 and is 15-12 overall. Hannah Robinson has been strong for the Tigers in the bottom half of their lineup, posting a 4-1 slate at the fourth slot while going 8-0 at five.
ABOUT ARKANSAS: The Lady’Backs of Arkansas hold an overall record of 7-6 in 2007 and are 0-4 so far in the SEC. Arkansas opened league play with losses to Georgia (6-1), Tennessee (4-3), Vanderbilt (7-0) and Kentucky (4-1). During last week’s break from SEC competition, the Lady Razorbacks upended Louisiana-Lafayette 4-3. Arkansas’ match at SMU scheduled for March 21 was postponed due to bad weather and rescheduled for a later date this season. Ela Kaluder headlines the Lady Razorbacks as the nation’s No. 25-rated player. She is 12-1 playing the No. 1 singles spot and has gone 24-7 for the 2006-07 school year.
SOUTH CAROLINA’S LAST MATCH: South Carolina recorded a 6-1 victory against Troy in women’s tennis action Saturday at Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks earned their third consecutive win and improved to 11-3 while the Trojans dropped to 7-3. Carolina won all three doubles contests by 8-2 scores to earn the doubles point. Laura Ganzer and Miranda Gutierrez won first against Caroline Jounia and Nicole Shaw at the No. 3 position, followed by Christyn Lucas and Natasa Vuckovic over Annabelle Bares and Stephanie Vieria on court 2. Gira Schofield and Ana Marija Zubori, who are currently ranked 28th nationally, improved to 17-3 and 11-2 in dual matches thanks to their victory against Rawia El Sisi and Claudia Strauss at the top slot. Gutierrez needed less than an hour to put the Gamecocks up 2-0 when posted a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Shaw playing at No. 6 singles. Zubori scored South Carolina’s third point by ousting Bares at the second spot 6-4, 6-0, and Vuckovic provided the clincher at three singles with a 6-3, 6-2 win versus Strauss. In the remaining matches, Schofield rolled over El Sisi at No. 1 singles, winning 6-1, 6-2 to make the score 5-0. Lucas added to Carolina’s total with her 6-3, 6-1 victory at the fourth slot in her match with Jounia. Vieria scored the Trojans’ lone point by upending Ganzer 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 at No. 5 singles.
ZUBORI STILL CRUISING: Freshman Ana Marija Zubori was nearly untouchable leading up to South Carolina’s first weekend of SEC play. She had a streak of 38 consecutive games won when she took on Mississippi State’s Elna de Villiers. Zubori had her streak snapped in the first game, but went on to win the next 11 en route to a 6-1, 6-1 win. Zubori has lost just three sets this spring and won 13 of her last 14 contests. Overall for the 2006-07 season, Zubori is 24-4 in singles play and 13-0 against regional opponents. A holder of dual citizenship from France and Serbia, Zubori has been equally successful with her doubles play by leading the team in victories with a 21-5 record. She and Gira Schofield have won seven in a row at the No. 1 position and moved up to 18th in the rankings this week.
SCHOFIELD SCORES A BIG WIN: Gira Schofield scored her best victory of the year so far when she defeated then-No. 28 Kellie Schmitt of Marshall 6-4, 6-2 on Feb. 28. Schmitt is the third-highest ranked player the sophomore has defeated in her career, as Schofield beat foes rated 12th and 15th a year ago. She finished the week with a 3-0 record at the top spot after taking out opponents from Mississippi and Mississippi State in straight sets.
WHAT IT TAKES TO BE ALL-AMERICA: All-America teams are awarded in tennis for singles and doubles play. No voting takes place, so the teams are decided based on the following criteria:
Singles
1. Top 16 seed in NCAA Singles Tourney, or
2. Reach round of 16 in NCAA Singles Tourney, or
3. Finish in top 20 of final ITA rankings
Doubles
1. Top eight seed in NCAA Doubles Tourney, or
2. Reach quarters of NCAA Doubles Tourney, or
3. Finish in top 10 of final ITA rankings
GAMECOCKS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: South Carolina made its 12th-straight appearance in NCAA play in 2006 and its 16th overall. USC is 15-16 in the tournament. The Gamecocks appeared in the first two tournaments in 1982 and 1983 and reached the quarterfinals in ’82, which remains the best showing in school history. The Gamecocks have reached the Sweet 16 five times, with their last appearance coming in 1999. In addition to USC making the NCAA field 12 times in a row, the school has won 12 of its past 13 first-round matches.
DOUBLES TANDEM CONTINUES TO IMPRESS: Gira Schofield and Ana Marija Zubori have been a tough out for every opponent this season as South Carolina’s No. 1 doubles team. The duo is 17-3 overall and 11-2 in duals at the top position. They entered the rankings at 41st Feb. 21 and then moved to 28th before catapulting another 10 spots in the latest edition to 18th. USC is looking to get a team into NCAAs for the first time since 2002.
IN THE RANKINGS: South Carolina is currently ranked 34th in the latest ITA rankings, which are determined using a computer average. Individually, sophomore Gira Schofield and freshman Ana Marija Zubori are rated No. 18 as a doubles team, up 10 spots from their previous ranking. Schofield also is 118th in singles.
IT’S ALL ABOUT CONSISTENCY: South Carolina extended its streak of consecutive NCAA appearances to 12 in 2006, which stands as the 11th-longest active streak in the country.
NCAA INDIVIDUAL HISTORY: South Carolina has placed either a singles competitor or doubles team in 19 of 25 NCAA Individual Tennis Championships. Laura Berstein remains the only Gamecock to advance to the round of 16 in singles, doing so in 1983 in Albuquerque, N.M. In doubles, Helen Crook and Victoria Davies are the only USC duo to go as far as the semifinals, which happened in 1994 in Athens, Ga. Last year, Gira Schofield became just the second USC freshman to compete in the NCAA Singles Championship.
