Jan. 26, 2010
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The 17th-ranked South Carolina women’s tennis team opened the 2010 season with a 6-1 victory Tuesday evening against No. 72 Furman (0-2) at the USC Field House.
South Carolina opened play by winning courts one and two in doubles to take an early 1-0 lead. Ana Marija Zubori and Dijana Stojic finished first with an 8-2 victory over Monica Arguello and Lauren Kline at the No. 1 spot. Miljana Jocic and Anya Morgina secured the point at No. 2 doubles by upending Jennifer Betts and Michele Stanford 8-4. The Paladins picked up a 9-8(2) triumph on court three thanks to Olivia Maurice and Jessica Preeg in their match-up with Rita Maisak and Adriana Pereira.
Morgina pushed the lead to 2-0 after defeating Stanford 6-3, 6-3 at three singles and Zubori made it 3-0 with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Arguello at the top position. Stojic provided the clinching point after winning 6-1, 6-2 over Kline at No. 2 singles.
The Paladins scored their lone point of the evening in the next match to finish when Preeg came back to beat Josefin Andersson in three sets at four singles. Andersson won the first set quickly 6-1 but faltered in the second 6-3. In the third set, Andersson trailed 3-1 and later was down 5-4 before going ahead 6-5. Andersson had a match point in the 12th game, but Preeg managed to force a tiebreaker and won 7-1.
Pereira snagged South Carolina’s fifth point with a 6-2, 6-1 decision over Maurice on court six and Jocic finished off the day with a 6-0, 6-3 triumph versus Susan Bitetti at No. 5 singles.
The Gamecocks will now head to Fayetteville, Ark., to face No. 20 Michigan in the first round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Friday.
#17 South Carolina (1-0) def. #72 Furman (0-2), 6-1
Singles
1. #38 Ana Marija Zubori, USC, def. #84 Monica Arguello, FU, 6-2, 6-2
2. Dijana Stojic, USC, def. Lauren Kline, FU, 6-1, 6-2
3. #69 Anya Morgina, USC, def. Michele Stanford, FU, 6-3, 6-3
4. Jessica Preeg, FU, def. Josefin Andersson, USC, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(1)
5. Miljana Jocic, USC, def. Susan Bitetti, FU, 6-0, 6-3
6. Adriana Pereira, USC, def. Olivia Maurice, FU, 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2, 4, 6, 5
Doubles
1. Stojic/Zubori, USC, def. Arguello/Kline, FU, 8-2
2. Jocic/Morgina, USC, def. Jennifer Betts/Stanford, FU, 8-4
3. Maurice/Preeg, FU, def. Rita Maisak/Pereira, USC, 9-8(2)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
