March 29, 2007
Weekly Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
ON TAP THIS WEEK: Standing 13-3 overall and 5-1 in the SEC, the South Carolina women’s tennis team is set to host Auburn (9-5, 3-3 SEC) on Friday at 2 p.m. at Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center. The Gamecocks then welcome Alabama (5-10, 1-5 SEC) to Columbia, S.C., for a 1 p.m. contest Sunday. Carolina is looking to extend its current winning streak of five and defeat the Tigers for the 17th time in a row. The Gamecocks hope to avenge a 4-3 loss they suffered to the Crimson Tide last year.
VERSUS THE OPPOSITION:
Auburn
Overall: 21-1
Home: 10-0
Away: 7-1
Neutral: 4-0
Last: W, 6-1, A, 2006
Streak: USC, 16 wins
Alabama
Overall: 9-7
Home: 5-3
Away: 4-4
Neutral: 3-0
Last: L, 3-4, A, 2006
Streak: UA, 1 win
ABOUT AUBURN: Auburn currently leads the SEC Western Division with a 3-3 record and is coming off a 1-1 weekend. The Tigers posted perhaps the largest upset in the program’s history when they toppled then-No. 1 Georgia by a 4-3 margin. Two days later they suffered a 5-2 setback to Tennessee. Auburn’s top singles player Fani Chifchieva is ranked 30th nationally in singles and has won nine matches in a row. Alex Haney also owns a nine-match unbeaten streak and is 13-1 this spring. She is ranked 14th in doubles with Melissa Koning. The Tigers’ other two victories in SEC play came against Mississippi State and Mississippi. Other losses for Auburn in league matches include Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
ABOUT ALABAMA: Alabama is among three teams from the SEC West sitting in second place with a 1-5 record. The Crimson Tide’s one victory in conference action came against Mississippi by a 5-2 margin. Nicole Briceno leads the team in singles victories with a 17-13 record and also tops the squad in dual wins at 8-7 playing the second, third and fourth positions. Bianca Svensson is 14-13 and 6-6 in duals, while Alice Tunaru owns a 15-16 slate and has gone 7-8 in dual contests. Mari Muller has played every match at No. 1 singles for the Tide, while Shelley Godwin has held the second spot for all but two matches.
SOUTH CAROLINA’S LAST MATCH: South Carolina shut out Arkansas 7-0 in women’s tennis action Sunday in Fayetteville, Ark. It was the Gamecocks’ fifth victory in a row and upped their record to 13-3 in 2007 and 5-1 against SEC opponents. The Lady Razorbacks dipped to 7-8 overall and remained winless in the league at 0-6. Laura Ganzer and Vanessa Pinto rolled past Melissa Hoffmeister and Rachel Wilhelm at No. 3 doubles by an 8-2 score to get the day started for Carolina. Nanar Airapetian and Maryori Franco answered for Arkansas by downing the No. 18-rated duo of Gira Schofield and Ana Marija Zubori 8-6 at the top slot. The Gamecocks managed to sneak away with the point when Christyn Lucas and Natasa Vuckovic beat Audrey Bordeleau and Ela Kaluder 7-5 in a tiebreaker on court 2. Vuckovic wasted no time putting her team on top 2-0 by upending Bordeleau 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4 singles. The win raised Vuckovic’s dual-match record to 14-2 in 2007 while making her 18-5 overall. She is currently riding a nine-match unbeaten streak and is 6-0 in league matches. Schofield scored South Carolina’s third point with a 6-2, 6-1 triumph over No. 25 Kaluder at one singles. It was Schofield’s first victory of the season against a top-25 opponent and the third of the sophomore’s career. Ganzer clinched the match for the Gamecocks with a 7-6(1), 6-0 decision against Hoffmeister on court 6. Pinto went on to defeat Airapetian 6-3, 6-3 at the third spot, followed by Zubori’s 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win versus Franco at two. Lucas completed the singles sweep for Carolina by scores of 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 playing Wilhelm at No. 6 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 four sets this spring and won 15 of her last 16 contests. Overall for the 2006-07 season, Zubori is 26-4 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 putting up a 21-7 record. She and Gira Schofield have won seven in a row at the No. 1 position and moved up to 18th in the most recent rankings.
LIKING THE PALMETTO STATE: In addition to her stellar 26-4 overall singles record and a perfect 13-0 slate against regional opponents, freshman Ana Marija Zubori has enjoyed playing in the Palmetto State. In fact, she has yet to lose a collegiate match playing in South Carolina with a 15-0 mark. Playing in Columbia, S.C., Zubori is 12-0.
GIVING A STRONG FINISH: Senior Christyn Lucas is making the most of her final year of eligibility. Lucas is 17-6 overall in singles and been a consistent winner in duals with an 11-2 mark. Additionally, she is 4-0 in SEC matches. The team’s 2005 MVP, Lucas has been just as successful in doubles playing with Natasa Vuckovic, as the duo is 15-2 and 13-1 in dual match-ups. The pair is Carolina’s regular No. 2 doubles team and is 10-1 at the position. Lucas’ 19 wins playing doubles is a personal single-season best as well.
SENIOR SEND-OFF: South Carolina’s final regular-season home match is Friday, April 6, when the Gamecocks host Kentucky at 2 p.m. It will be the final chance for fans to see Laura Ganzer, Miranda Gutierrez and Christyn Lucas in action at Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center. The first 50 South Carolina fans will receive a free t-shirt and visor for supporting the women’s tennis team.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Natasa Vuckovic won the second Southeastern Conference Player of the Week award in her career March 27. Vuckovic posted a 2-0 record in singles and doubles in helping the Gamecocks defeat LSU and Arkansas to earn the recognition. She upended Nicole Kantor from LSU 6-4, 7-5 at three singles and was a 6-1, 6-0 winner against Audrey Bordeleau of Arkansas playing the No. 4 slot. Vuckovic teamed with Christyn Lucas for doubles at the second position, and the duo’s victories proved critical in securing the doubles points for both contests.
SWEET 16: With a 13-3 record, South Carolina has its best record through 16 matches since 1999 when the squad finished 18-8, reached the NCAA Sweet 16 and posted a year-end ranking of 12th. At 5-1 in the SEC, the Gamecocks are tied for their best record through six league matches. The only other time USC was 5-1 after six contests was 1995. South Carolina went to the Sweet 16 that year as well and finished 11th in the rankings, its best under coach Arlo Elkins.
LIVE SCORING: All home Gamecock women’s tennis matches feature live scoring on the Internet at www.USCsports.com. Links to live scoring when South Carolina travels are posted on USC’s Web site under the schedule link as well.
SCHOFIELD’S BIG WINS: Gira Schofield scored one of her best victories of the year when she defeated then-No. 28 Kellie Schmitt of Marshall 6-4, 6-2 on Feb. 28. At the time, Schmitt was the third-highest ranked player the sophomore had 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. Against Arkansas, Schofield downed No. 25 Ela Kaluder for her first victory of the season versus a top-25 opponent. Two days prior, Schofield nearly scored a win over the nation’s No. 2-rated player in Megan Falcon of LSU. The two split tiebreakers for the first two sets before Falcon took the third.
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 17-5 overall and 11-4 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 32nd 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, and Natasa Vuckovic is 125th.
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.
