March 13, 2014
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COLUMBIA, S.C. — The No. 54 South Carolina women’s tennis team hits the road for the first time in over a month when it faces No. 12 Georgia on Friday at 4 p.m. in Athens, Ga., and No. 49 Tennessee on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Knoxville, Tenn.
Carolina (10-4, 1-2 SEC) suffered a 4-0 loss to then-No. 2 Florida on Saturday in the Gamecocks’ lone match last week. In the loss to Florida, the Gamecocks did pick up a win at No. 1 doubles courtesy of Elixane Lechemia and Dominika Kanakova. The unranked duo defeated the Gators’ then-No. 20-ranked tandem by an 8-2 score. With the victory, Lechemia and Kanakova are now ranked No. 61 in the latest ITA rankings. Meghan Blevins has won nine of her last 10 matches and owns a 10-2 record in dual matches this spring. She re-entered the rankings this week for the first time since the fall at No. 112. Caroline Dailey leads the squad in singles victories overall with a 16-6 mark and is 8-2 in duals to include a 2-0 record in SEC matches. Katerina Popova owns a 15-7 slate and is 2-1 in duals in league play at No. 2 singles. Brigit Folland is the highest ranked Gamecock right now at No. 95.
The Georgia Bulldogs (10-2, 3-0) went 2-0 during their first road trip of SEC play, beating Mississippi State 7-0 and then-No. 49 Ole Miss 5-2. With its pair of wins, Georgia is one of just four SEC teams to remain unbeaten in conference play (Alabama, Auburn, Florida). Georgia most recently defeated No. 5 Virginia in a 4-3 decision in Athens on Wednesday clinched at No. 6 singles by Mia King. The Bulldogs have three players ranked in the top 25 in the nation in singles with Lauren Herring (10), Silvia Garcia (15) and Maho Kowase (21). Lilly Kimbell holds a ranking as well at 45th. Three Georgia doubles teams are ranked, led by Herring and Kowase who are third. Garcia and Kate Fuller are rated 36th and Kimbell and King are 54th.
The Lady Vols (4-7, 0-3 SEC) finished their five-match road-trip in Mississippi last weekend, dropping a pair of SEC matches to Ole Miss (5-2) and Mississippi State (4-3). Tennessee will face No. 3 Florida on Friday before hosting the Gamecocks on Sunday. UT has one individual with a national ranking with Eve Repic coming in at No. 102 in singles play. Repic is 15-8 this season and 6-5 playing No. 1 singles.
The Gamecocks’ rivalry with both teams dates back to the 1970s before they joined the SEC in the early ’90s. South Carolina has played Georgia more than any other team in its history since first fielding a varsity team in spring 1974. Friday marks the 58th time the two schools have played and the Bulldogs own the advantage 42 to 15. The Gamecocks’ last win over UGA came in Athens in 2010 by a 4-1 margin in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament. Miljana Jocic provided the winning point in that contest at No. 4 singles.
The Lady Volunteers own the edge 25 to 17 and have won 12 of the past 14 match-ups with South Carolina, but seven of those 12 victories have come by 4-3 margins. In fact, four of the past five meetings in the series have been decided by one point. South Carolina’s two victories in the past 14 contests with Tennessee have actually come in Knoxville. The Gamecocks’ last win over the Lady Vols was one of their more memorable matches, as they knocked off UT in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2009 to advance to the Sweet 16. Four-time All-SEC performer Gira Schofield scored the winning point in thrilling fashion with a three-set win over Caitlin Whoriskey at No. 1 singles to lift the Gamecocks past the 10th-seeded Lady Vols by a 4-3 margin.
South Carolina will be on the road again the following weekend at No. 8 Alabama on March 21 and No. 21 Auburn on March 23.
