May 15, 2010

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The 18th-ranked South Carolina women’s tennis team (17-9) suffered a 4-0 setback to No. 15 Florida State (16-10) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Tallahassee, Fla.

The Gamecocks faltered in doubles for the second straight day, losing on courts one and three. At three, Amy Sargeant and Katie Rybakova defeated Adriana Pereira and Madeleine Saari-Byström 8-1, followed by Lauren McCreless and Francesca Segarelli’s 8-4 triumph over Dijana Stojic and Ana Marija Zubori at No. 1 doubles.

South Carolina held a 5-2 lead on court two thanks to Miljana Jocic and Anya Morgina. The two were pitted against the Seminole duo of Federica Suess and Jessica Sucupira.

Florida State carried the momentum in doubles over to singles by winning first sets on five of six courts. South Carolina’s lone first set went to Pereira on court five against Suess, as Pereira snagged a 7-4 victory in a tiebreaker.

McCreless recorded a 6-2, 6-1 triumph at No. 1 singles over Zubori to put the Seminoles ahead 2-0. Next, Sargeant pulled out a 6-3, 6-2 decision versus Jocic at No. 4 singles to put FSU within a point of advancing to the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga.

It appeared Segarelli would give FSU its fourth point at three singles after she won the first set 6-4 against Morgina and held a 5-4 advantage in the second with Morgina serving 15-40. Morgina, though, fought off both points to get to deuce and then saved two more match points before holding serve. Morgina broke Segarelli in the next game to lead 6-5 before having her match suspended.

Sucupira provided the final point on court six, defeating Saari-Byström 6-2, 6-3. Saari-Byström had a 40-15 lead on her serve trailing 5-3 in the second set, but Sucupira managed to come back and take the game to end the Gamecocks’ season.

Zubori and Stojic will now represent South Carolina in the NCAA Doubles Championship that begins May 27 in Athens. Zubori will also compete in the singles tournament that starts May 26.

#15 Florida State (16-10) def. #18 South Carolina (17-9), 4-0

Singles
1. #22 Lauren McCreless, FSU, def. #39 Ana Marija Zubori, USC, 6-2, 6-1
2. #87 Dijana Stojic, USC, vs. Katie Rybakova, FSU, 2-6, 6-1, 4-4 suspended
3. #111 Anya Morgina, USC, vs. #103 Francesca Segarelli, FSU, 4-6, 6-5 suspended
4. Amy Sargeant, FSU, def. Miljana Jocic, USC, 6-3, 6-2
5. Adriana Pereira, USC, vs. Federica Suess, FSU, 7-6(4), 2-4 suspended
6. Jessica Sucupira, FSU, def. Madeleine Saari-Byström, USC, 6-2, 6-3

Order of Finish: 1, 4, 6

Doubles
1. #55 McCreless/Segarelli, FSU, def. #15 Stojic/Zubori, USC, 8-4
2. Jocic/Morgina, USC, vs. Suess/Sucupira, FSU, 5-2 suspended
3. Sargeant/Rybakova, FSU, def. Pereira/Saari-Byström, USC, 8-1

Order of Finish: 3, 1