March 7, 2014
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COLUMBIA, S.C. — The No. 35 South Carolina women’s tennis team closes out a 10-match homestand Saturday hosting No. 2 Florida at 1 p.m. at Carolina Tennis Center in Columbia, S.C.
The Gamecocks (10-3, 1-1 SEC) split their first weekend of SEC play a week ago. South Carolina picked up a 6-1 win over Missouri in their first match and then suffered a tough 5-2 loss to No. 9 Texas A&M two days later. The Gamecocks had chances against the Aggies despite losing the doubles point but lost two three-set matches in singles. Freshman Caroline Dailey now leads the team in singles victories this season with a 16-6 record and is off to a 2-0 start in league play. Junior Meghan Blevins has won nine matches in a row and is undefeated this season at No. 4 singles with a 9-0 record. Senior Katerina Popova had a nine-match winning streak heading into the A&M match but had it snapped against Ines Deheza. Popova is 15-6 for the season and 6-1 at No. 2 singles.
The Gators (10-2, 2-0 SEC) defeated both Mizzou and Texas A&M last week to get SEC play started in Gainesville, Fla. Florida upended A&M by a 4-0 score on ESPN3 as part of the USTA’s College MatchDay series and then followed with a 7-0 victory a couple days afterward against the Tigers. UF began with singles play against the Aggies and picked up wins by Brianna Morgan at two, Alexandra Cercone at three, Sofie Oyen at four and Kourtney Keegan at six. The Gators earned the doubles point with ease against Mizzou and no player surrendered more than two games in any set for the singles portion of the contest.
Several ranked individuals will be in action for Saturday’s contest. The Gamecocks’ Brigit Folland is ranked No. T-85 in the latest ITA rankings and Popova is rated No. 90. Florida boasts the No. 7 player in the country with Olivia Janowicz, followed by Morgan at No. 24, Cercone at No. 27, Oyen at No. 34, Keegan at No. 45 and Belinda Woolcock at No. T-76. In doubles, the Gators have four teams with national rankings. Keegan is a member of three of those teams, coming in at 22nd with Oyen, 34th with Janowicz and 52nd with Woolcock. Oyen/Woolcock is the highest ranked tandem at No. 20.
The last time Florida came to Columbia in 2012, the Gamecocks suffered a 4-1 loss to Florida to close out the regular season. South Carolina took the doubles point from the Gators, who only lost doubles one other time that year during their run to the national championship. In the process, the Gamecocks also defeated the then-No. 1 doubles team in the nation of Allie Will and Oyen by an 8-3 score thanks to Jaklin Alawi and Dijana Stojic.
The Gators have won 36 in a row over the Gamecocks and own a 40-2 all-time record against Carolina. The Gamecocks’ last win over Florida came in the round of 16 at the 1982 NCAA Championships. It was the first year the NCAA held a championship in women’s tennis, taking place in Salt Lake City. South Carolina earned a 5-4 victory to advance to the quarterfinals.
After facing the Gators, South Carolina will hit the road for the first of four straight matches away from home. The Gamecocks face No. 11 Georgia on March 14, No. 42 Tennessee on March 16, No. 20 Auburn on March 21 and No. 4 Alabama on March 23.
