April 5, 2007
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Kentucky Live Scoring | Vanderbilt Live Scoring
ON TAP THIS WEEK: The 22nd-ranked South Carolina women’s tennis team (15-3, 7-1 SEC) looks to close out its regular-season home schedule with a perfect record when it hosts No. 26 Kentucky (15-3, 6-2 SEC) at 2 p.m. Friday at Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center. The Gamecocks are 10-0 at home in 2007, and the first 50 fans who attend Friday’s contest will receive a free Gamecock T-shirt and visor. Carolina then travels to Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday to face No. 16 Vanderbilt (14-6, 7-1 SEC) at 1 p.m.
VERSUS THE OPPOSITION:
Kentucky
Overall: 10-13
Home: 7-4
Away: 3-7
Neutral: 0-2
Last: L, 2-5, A, 2006
Streak: UK, 5 wins
Vanderbilt
Overall: 10-13
Home: 4-5
Away: 3-6
Neutral: 3-2
Last: L, 2-5, H, 2006
Streak: VU, 1 win
ABOUT KENTUCKY: Kentucky had its nine-match winning streak snapped last week when it first lost at Georgia 6-1 and then suffered the same fate at Tennessee two days later. The 26th-rated Wildcats are 15-3 overall and stand 6-2 in the Southeastern Conference. UK’s only other loss this year came at Indiana in mid-February. Joelle Schwenk is Kentucky’s one ranked singles player at No. 110 and is 26-7 overall this year. Schwenk is 15-3 in dual matches and 13-1 at the No. 2 position. She and Kim Coventry form the nation’s 11th-ranked doubles team with a 20-5 record. The duo owns a 13-4 slate at the top slot. Carolina Escamilla and Sarah Woestmann are ranked in doubles as well at 57th.
ABOUT VANDERBILT: Vanderbilt is one of three teams currently tied for first in the SEC standings at 7-1. Overall, the No. 16 Commodores stand 14-6 and had their 12-match unbeaten streak snapped at Georgia in their last match by a 4-3 score. Amanda Fish is Vandy’s highest-ranked player on the roster at No. 25 and plays the top singles position. Amanda Taylor is No. 36 and owns a 30-6 overall record while Catherine Newman is right behind at 38th with a 27-6 mark. Rounding out Vanderbilt’s collection of ranked players is Taka Bertrand at No. 101. Taylor and Fish are ranked 18th in doubles, and Bertrand and Newman are No. 51.
SOUTH CAROLINA’S LAST MATCH: South Carolina’s women’s tennis team rolled to its seventh consecutive win Sunday with a 7-0 thrashing of Alabama at Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks upped their record to 15-3 and 7-1 in the Southeastern Conference, while the Crimson Tide fell to 5-12 and 1-7 in the league. At 15-3, the Gamecocks have their best record through 18 matches since the 1995 squad was 16-2. The 7-1 mark in SEC play is the best in Carolina’s history since it first competed in the conference in 1992. Additionally, seven conference victories are the most for the Gamecocks since 2002 when the team finished the season with seven. The afternoon began with South Carolina winning the doubles point for the 15th time in 18 tries this spring. Christyn Lucas and Natasa Vuckovic had no trouble defeating Shelley Godwin and Bianca Svensson 8-1 at the second position for USC’s first victory. It was the ninth win in a row for Lucas and Vuckovic and made the duo 17-2 overall and 15-1 in duals. Laura Ganzer and Miranda Gutierrez clinched the 1-0 lead with an 8-4 triumph over Paulina Bigos and Nicole Briceno on court 3. The Crimson Tide’s team of Andrea Brenes and Mari Muller managed to win the top slot 9-7 against Gira Schofield and Ana Marija Zubori. After suffering a heartbreaking three-set loss two days prior, Megan McGavock wasted no time earning South Carolina’s second point by upending Svensson 6-1, 6-2 at the fifth singles spot. Soon afterward, Schofield beat Muller 6-3, 6-2 to win No. 1 singles, and Vuckovic put away Godwin 6-2, 6-1 on court 3 for her 11th win in a row to give the Gamecocks the team victory. Zubori bounced back from an early 3-1 deficit in the first set to defeat Briceno 6-3, 6-4 at No. 2 singles and improve to 27-5 for the 2006-07 season. The freshman also is 14-2 in dual matches and 9-1 at the second singles position. Gutierrez won next for the Gamecocks, digging herself out of a 5-0 hole against Bigos at six singles in the first set to win 7-6, 6-1. Gutierrez won six games in a row after losing the first five before winning in a tiebreaker. The last match of the day saw Lucas rebound from a 7-5 loss in the first set to Alice Tunaru on court 4 to win 6-3 in the second and 10-5 in a third-set super tiebreaker. Lucas fell behind Tunaru 4-2 heading to the first changeover in the breaker but answered with seven straight points to take control.
THE STORY ON ZUBORI: 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 six sets this spring and won 16 of her last 18 contests. Overall for the 2006-07 season, Zubori is 27-5 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 21-9 record. She and Gira Schofield have been ranked as high as 18th in the country this season and are currently No. 32.
LIKING THE PALMETTO STATE: In addition to her stellar 27-5 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 lost just one collegiate match playing in South Carolina with a 16-1 mark. Playing in Columbia, S.C., Zubori is 13-1.
GIVING A STRONG FINISH: Senior Christyn Lucas is making the most of her final year of eligibility. Lucas is 18-7 overall in singles and been a consistent winner in duals with an 12-3 mark. Additionally, she is 5-1 in SEC matches. The team’s 2005 MVP, Lucas has been just as successful in doubles playing with Natasa Vuckovic, as the duo is 17-2 and 15-1 in dual match-ups. The pair is Carolina’s regular No. 2 doubles team and is 12-1 at the position. Lucas’ 21 wins playing doubles is a personal single-season best as well.
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.
GOOD TO BE A GAMECOCK: With a 15-3 record, South Carolina has its best record through 18 matches since 1995 when the squad finished 22-7 after being 16-2, reached the NCAA Sweet 16 and posted a year-end ranking of 11th. At 7-1 in the SEC, the Gamecocks have their best record through eight league matches since joining the SEC in 1992. Seven wins also is the most for Carolina in the SEC since 2002 when it finished 7-4.
SITTING PRETTY IN THE SEC: The Gamecocks have themselves currently tied for first place in the Southeastern Conference at 7-1 with Vanderbilt and Georgia. Florida is right behind the trio at 6-1 and Kentucky is 6-2. If South Carolina were to win its remaining three matches against Kentucky, Vandy and Florida it would claim at least a share of the SEC title depending on how Georgia finished its season. The Gamecocks hope to at least be among the top four in the final regular-season standings in order to earn a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament in Lexington, Ky. A win against Kentucky would guarantee a top-four seed at the SEC Tournament while giving the Gamecocks their second-most wins in history in SEC play. South Carolina has received a first-round bye just three times coming in 1996, 1999 and 2002.
SEC TOURNAMENT INFO: The 2007 SEC Women’s Tennis Tournament is set to take place over April 19-22 at Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, Ky. Two first-round matches begin at 10 a.m. April 19 followed by another pair at 1 p.m. The quarterfinals follow the same schedule the following day. One semifinal match will be played at 10 a.m. April 21 and the next at 1 p.m. The championship match is set for noon April 22. Live scoring updates will be available for all matches at www.ukathletics.com.
NCAA TOURNAMENT INFO: First- and second-round NCAA Tournament matches will be played over May 11-13 at 16 campus sites that will be determined once the field of participants has been announced. The 64-team bracket will be announced May 1 at 8:45 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS. Georgia is hosting this year’s women’s and men’s championships in Athens, Ga., at Dan McGill Tennis Complex over May 18-28. The round of 16 and beyond for the men’s and women’s tournaments takes place in Athens, with the women’s running from May 18-22. The singles and doubles championships take place over May 23-28. The field of players for the singles tourney will be released by 6 p.m. ET May 2 on the NCAA’s Web site. Draws for the individual championships will be set May 22. The singles tournament consists of 64 players, while the doubles championship is played with 32 teams.
RECORDS CHECK: With 27 singles victories so far, freshman Ana Marija Zubori is just two away from cracking the top 10 on the Gamecocks’ all-time single-season list. It is also the most wins in one season for a South Carolina player since 1998-99 when Lynn-Yin Tan went 28-9. Zubori is three wins away from breaking into the top 10 for combined victories as well with 48. Senior Laura Ganzer has a 24-6 record playing doubles this season, putting her in a tie for 10th place on the school’s single-season list. It is the most wins in doubles by a Gamecock since Jodi Kenoyer piled up 28 during 2001-02.
STREAKING: Natasa Vuckovic has done more than just avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. She has been the most consistent winner for the Gamecocks during the spring, going 16-2 in dual matches and 8-0 against SEC opponents. Vuckovic is currently riding an 11-match winning streak and is 20-5 overall for the 2006-07 season. She and senior Christyn Lucas form one of the Gamecocks’ most formidable doubles teams, as the duo is 17-2 overall and won nine in a row. In duals, Lucas and Vuckovic are 15-1 and 12-1 as South Carolina’s No. 2 squad. They are undefeated in SEC matches as well with a 6-0 slate.
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 current No. 3-rated player in Megan Falcon of LSU. The two split tiebreakers for the first two sets before Falcon took the third. Schofield’s next win of note was versus Fani Chifchieva from Auburn by scores of 6-1, 6-3. Chifchieva was 30th at the time of the match, and Schofield’s win proved critical as the Gamecocks won the contest 4-3.
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.
IN THE RANKINGS: South Carolina is currently ranked 22nd in the latest ITA rankings, which are determined using a computer average. It is the Gamecocks’ best rating of the season and the first time it has been among the top 25 since early March 2006 when the team was 19th. Individually, sophomore Gira Schofield and freshman Ana Marija Zubori are rated No. 32 as a doubles team, and Schofield is 55th in singles, a jump of 63 spots from her previous ranking and her best of the spring.
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.
