April 19, 2007
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ON TAP THIS WEEK: The University of South Carolina women’s tennis team enters the 2007 SEC Tournament with a first-round bye as the No. 4 seed and will take on the winner of fifth-seeded Tennessee and No. 12-seeded Alabama on Friday at 1 p.m. The University of Kentucky is hosting the tournament in Lexington, Ky., at Boone Tennis Complex. The Gamecocks went 16-5 during the regular season and were 8-3 in the SEC.
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. Live scoring updates will be available for all matches by clicking HERE. A complete schedule for the tournament is listed below:
Thursday, April 19
1. #11 Mississippi State vs. #6 Kentucky, 10 a.m.
2. #10 Ole Miss vs. #7 LSU, 10 a.m.
3. #12 Alabama vs. #5 Tennessee, 1 p.m.
4. #9 Arkansas vs. #8 Auburn, 1 p.m.
Friday, April 20
5. Match 1 winner vs. #3 Vanderbilt, 10 a.m.
6. Match 2 winner vs. #2 Florida, 10 a.m.
7. Match 3 winner vs. #4 South Carolina, 1 p.m.
8. Match 4 winner vs. #1 Georgia, 1 p.m.
Saturday, April 21
9. Match 5 winner vs. Match 6 winner, 10 a.m.
10. Match 7 winner vs. Match 8 winner, 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 22
11. Match 9 winner vs. Match 10 winner, 1 p.m.
SOUTH CAROLINA’S LAST MATCH: The No. 23-ranked South Carolina women’s tennis team suffered a 4-1 setback at No. 3 Florida on Saturday but still came away with a first-round bye for next week’s SEC Tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Gamecocks finished the regular season with a 16-5 overall record and went 8-3 in the SEC, the second-most conference wins in school history. Florida ended at 19-1, and its 10-1 league mark was good for a share of the SEC regular-season championship with Georgia. Carolina fell behind early by losing the doubles point. Megan Alexander and Anastasia Revzina were 8-4 winners at the third slot against Miranda Gutierrez and Natasa Vuckovic. Whitney Benik and Nina Suvak clinched the point for the Gators when they upended Laura Ganzer and Megan McGavock 8-3 on court 2. The match between USC’s Gira Schofield and Ana Marija Zubori, and UF’s Csilla Borsanyi and Diana Srebrovic at the top spot was suspended once the doubles had been decided. Suvak scored Florida’s second point when she beat McGavock 6-3, 6-0 at No. 4 singles, but the Gamecocks answered with Zubori’s 6-3, 6-4 upset of No. 20 Alexander at the second spot. It was the freshman’s first career victory against a ranked opponent and her 29th of the season. The next two matches belonged to the Gators, though, with No. 18 Srebrovic first defeating Schofield 6-3, 6-4 on court 1 and Benik next registering a 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 triumph over Gutierrez at the No. 6 position. Vuckovic and Ganzer did not finish their contests with Revzina and Borsanyi at three and five singles after Florida secured the team win.
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 nine sets this spring and won 18 of her last 21 contests. Overall for the 2006-07 season, Zubori is 29-6 in singles play and 14-1 against regional opponents. Her 29 victories in singles is the most by a Gamecock since 1994-95 when Tracy Kotseos had a 30-11 mark. A holder of dual citizenship from France and Serbia, Zubori has been equally successful with her doubles play by putting up a 21-11 record. She and Gira Schofield have been ranked as high as 18th in the country this season and are currently No. 38.
LIKING THE PALMETTO STATE: In addition to her stellar 29-6 overall singles record and 14-1 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 17-1 mark. Playing in Columbia, S.C., Zubori is 14-1.
GIVING A STRONG FINISH: Senior Christyn Lucas is making the most of her final year of eligibility. Lucas is 18-9 overall in singles and been a consistent winner in duals with a 12-5 mark. The team’s 2005 MVP, Lucas has been just as successful in doubles playing with Natasa Vuckovic, as the duo is 18-3 and 16-2 in dual match-ups. The pair is Carolina’s regular No. 2 doubles team and is 13-2 at the position. Lucas’ 22 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 16-5 record, South Carolina has its best record through 21 matches since 1995 when the squad finished 22-7 after being 18-3, reached the NCAA Sweet 16 and posted a year-end ranking of 11th. South Carolina went 8-3 in the SEC during the regular season for its second-most league wins in school history. The most was in 1996 when the Gamecocks capped a 9-2 campaign with a victory at Kentucky. Sixteen overall victories also is the most for South Carolina since 2002 when the squad went 17-8.
ALL-SEC TEAMS: Gira Schofield was named to the All-SEC First Team this season, making her just the second player in school history to take home first-team honors. The other was Lynn-Yin Tan in 1999. Schofield was a second-team member as a freshman in 2006. Natasa Vuckovic was named to the All-SEC Second Team for the second year in a row, and Ana Marija Zubori appeared on the squad as well. Schofield and Vuckovic are just the second and third Gamecocks to receive multiple all-conference citations from the SEC since South Carolina joined th SEC in 1991-92. The 2007 All-SEC First and Second Teams are listed below.
All-SEC First Team
Ela Kaluder (Arkansas)
Fani Chifchieva (Auburn)
Monika Dancevic (Florida)
Diana Srebrovic (Florida)
Nina Suvak (Florida)
Natalie Frazier (Georgia)
Yvette Hyndman (Georgia)
Megan Falcon (LSU)
Gira Schofield (SOUTH CAROLINA)
Blakeley Griffith (Tennessee)
Amanda Fish (Vanderbilt)
Catherine Newman (Vanderbilt)
Amanda Taylor (Vanderbilt)
All-SEC Second Team
Alex Haney (Auburn)
Megan Alexander (Florida)
Csilla Borsanyi (Florida)
Anastasia Revzina (Florida)
Darya Ivanov (Georgia)
Joelle Schwenk (Kentucky)
Sarah Woestmann (Kentucky)
Ilona Somer (Mississippi)
Martina Banikova (Mississippi State)
Ana Marija Zubori (SOUTH CAROLINA)
Natasa Vuckovic (SOUTH CAROLINA)
Taka Bertrand (Vanderbilt)
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 29 singles victories so far, freshman Ana Marija Zubori is tied for ninth on the Gamecocks’ all-time single-season list. It is also the most wins in one season for a South Carolina player since 1994-95 when Tracy Kotseos went 30-11. Zubori is one win away from breaking into the top 10 for combined victories as well with 50. Senior Laura Ganzer has a 25-8 record playing doubles this season, putting her in a tie for eighth 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.
A TOUGH OUT FOR ANYBODY: 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 17-3 in dual matches and 9-1 against SEC opponents. Vuckovic had an 11-match winning streak prior to her three-set loss against Kentucky, but she rebounded two days later at Vanderbilt with a win over then-No. 38 Catherine Newman, the highest-ranked player Vuckovic has beaten in her career. Vuckovic is 21-6 overall for the 2006-07 season. She and senior Christyn Lucas form one of the Gamecocks’ most formidable doubles teams, as the duo is 18-3 overall and won nine in a row at one point this spring. In duals, Lucas and Vuckovic are 16-2 and 13-2 as South Carolina’s No. 2 squad. They have just one loss in SEC matches at 7-1.
LIVE SCORING: All home Gamecock women’s tennis matches feature live scoring on the Internet at www.USCsports.com. Links to live scoring when Carolina travels are posted on its Web site under the schedule link.
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 then-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. 2-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 23rd in the latest ITA rankings, which are determined using a computer average. It marks the third week in a row the Gamecocks have been among the top 25 after checking in for the first time of the season two weeks ago at No. 22. Individually, sophomore Gira Schofield and freshman Ana Marija Zubori are rated No. 38 as a doubles team, and Schofield is 63rd in singles. Zubori also entered the singles rankings this week for the first time in her career at No. 83 thanks in large part to her victory against Florida’s Megan Alexander, who was ranked 20th last week at the time of the match.
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.
