April 6, 2008
AUBURN, Ala. — The South Carolina women’s tennis team fell by a 4-3 margin at Auburn on Sunday at Yarbrough Tennis Center. The Gamecocks dropped to 12-7 overall and 5-5 in the SEC while the Tigers improved to 14-6 and 4-6 in the league.
Carolina lost the first and second spots in doubles to fall behind 1-0 heading to singles. Whitney Chappell and Fani Chifchieva won first at two by an 8-4 score over Megan McGavock and Suzanna Mansour. Alex Haney and Melissa Koning clinched the point with an 8-5 decision over Gira Schofield and Ana Marija Zubori on court one. The Gamecock duo of Jelena Rajic and Natasa Vuckovic took No. 3 doubles 8-4 over Dunja Djuranovic and Jil Hastenrath.
McGavock evened the score quickly in singles play with her 6-1, 6-0 win against Djuranovic at six singles. Haney answered at No. 2 singles with a 7-6, 6-4 victory versus Zubori. Chifchieva extended the Auburn advantage to 3-1 after beating Schofield 7-5, 7-6 at the No. 1 slot.
The Gamecocks kept themselves in the match with Vuckovic winning 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 at No. 3 singles against Koning to mark her sixth victory in a row. Hastenrath then hung on to upend Rajic 7-6, 7-5 on court five to give the Tigers their first victory over the Gamecocks since 1993, snapping a 17-match losing streak in the series.
Mansour allowed the Gamecocks to leave Auburn, Ala., on a positive note with her 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 triumph in her match with Chappell on court four.
The Gamecocks host No. 3 Florida on Saturday at 1 p.m. in their final regular-season match of 2008.
#34 Auburn (14-6, 4-6 SEC) def. #30 South Carolina (12-7, 5-5 SEC), 4-3
Singles
1. #22 Fani Chifchieva, AU, def. #44 Gira Schofield, USC, 7-5, 7-6
2. #107 Alex Haney, AU, def. #70 Ana Marija Zubori, USC, 7-6, 6-4
3. Natasa Vuckovic, USC, def. Melissa Koning, AU, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
4. Suzanna Mansour, USC, def. Whitney Chappell, AU, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
5. Jil Hastenrath, AU, def. Jelena Rajic, USC, 7-6, 7-5
6. Megan McGavock, USC, def. Dunja Djuranovic, AU, 6-1, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 1, 3, 5, 4
Doubles
1. #22 Haney/Koning, AU, def. #37 Schofield/Zubori, USC, 8-5
2. Chappell/Chifchieva, AU, def. McGavock/Mansour, USC, 8-4
3. Rajic/Vuckovic, USC, def. Djuranovic/Hastenrath, AU, 8-4
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3