April 11, 2008

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The 32nd-ranked South Carolina women’s tennis team will face No. 4 Florida in the regular-season finale for both teams Saturday at 1 p.m. at Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center in Columbia, S.C.

The Gators enter Saturday’s contest having already won the SEC regular-season title with a 10-0 record and they are 17-1 overall. South Carolina (12-7, 5-5 SEC) is hoping for a win to improve its seeding in next week’s SEC Tournament, which takes place over April 17-20 in Auburn, Ala.

A win for the Gamecocks would do many things, the first of which is snap a 27-match losing streak to Florida that has lasted for over two decades. South Carolina’s last win versus the Gators was by a 5-4 margin in the round of 16 at the 1982 NCAA Championships in Salt Lake City. It was also the first year the NCAA held a championship for women’s tennis.

Beating Florida would also give South Carolina at worst the No. 7 seed, forcing a match-up with either Alabama or Ole Miss at the SEC Tournament. The Gamecocks beat the Crimson Tide 4-2 and the Lady Rebels 4-3 earlier in the season. The Gamecocks need some help to earn the fifth seed even with a triumph over Florida. The only way for it to happen is with Tennessee beating No. 8 Georgia and Kentucky knocking off No. 12 Vanderbilt.

Tennis fans will see plenty of nationally ranked players at the match. Florida boasts five in its singles lineup with Julia Cohen (27), Csilla Borsanyi (32), Anastasia Revzina (95), Megan Alexander (106) and Whitney Benik (124). Alexander and Marrit Boonstra are ranked No. 7 in the nation in doubles while Cohen and Revzina are 39th. For South Carolina, Gira Schofield is No. 44 in singles and Ana Marija Zubori is No. 70. The two are 37th as a doubles team.

Saturday marks the final home match for the Gamecocks’ lone senior Megan McGavock. She currently leads the team in combined singles and doubles victories with 44 this season. She is two wins shy of cracking the school’s top-10 list for career singles victories and she is already tied for 10th in doubles triumphs with 62. Her 139 combined wins is tied for ninth in school history. McGavock will graduate with degrees in corporate finance and marketing.

South Carolina will offer free hot dogs, chicken sandwiches and lemonade for the match. Admission to the event is free.