May 13, 2011

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina junior Anya Morgina has been named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Player to Watch for the Carolina Region.

The ITA Player to Watch award is given to a player seen as a rising star on the national scene. Each of the 12 regional recipients will now complete for the national award, which will be announced May 24 at the NCAA Championships in Stanford, Calif. Morgina is just the second Gamecock to win the regional award for player to watch, joining Heather Greene in 1994.

Morgina earned a spot on the All-SEC First Team this season, becoming just the fourth Gamecock in school history to achieve first-team status. It marked the first All-SEC accolade in Morgina’s career. The Russian has played the No. 1 singles position all season for Carolina and recorded a 13-10 mark there. In SEC regular-season play, Morgina tied a school record by winning eight matches on court one and finished 8-3. She posted the most wins at No. 1 singles in league play of any player in the conference. Morgina currently stands a team-best 23-13 overall in singles and is 21-13 in doubles matches. Her national rankings sit at No. 44 in singles and No. 40 in doubles.

Morgina and the Gamecocks begin NCAA Tournament play Saturday taking on Arizona at 9 a.m. in Gainesville, Fla. She will also play in the NCAA Singles Championship beginning May 25 in Stanford.