Dominika Kanakova

2011-12 Gamecock Spotlight Video

2013-14 (SENIOR): Battled several injuries throughout the fall and early spring, but still had another outstanding season playing doubles … Became the first Gamecock since 2002 to earn consecutive bids to the NCAA Doubles Championship … Also the first Gamecock since Karolina Bulat in 1996 and 1997 to play in consecutive NCAA Doubles Championships with a different partner each year … Ranked as high as No. 26 in the doubles rankings playing alongside Elixane Lechemia … They finished the season ranked 29th … Posted a 10-6 record with Lechemia and went 7-4 in dual matches for SEC play … All seven wins came at No. 1 doubles to tie a school record for the position … Was 13-9 overall in doubles playing with three different partners … Ranked No. 38 to start the fall with Lechemia, but the two did not start playing together until the spring … Kanakova and Lechemia’s first match came versus North Florida on Feb. 21 … Posted an 8-2 win against No. 20 Oyen and Woolcock from Florida … Snagged an 8-4 win over Jansen and Routliffe of Alabama in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, a duo ranked seventh at the time … Jansen and Routliffe went on to win the NCAA Doubles Championship and finish No. 1 in the national rankings … Also posted wins against ranked tandems from Mississippi State and Ohio State … Lost to Capra and Mar of Duke in the first round of the NCAA Doubles Championship … Ranked eighth in school history for career doubles victories with 74 at the conclusion of the 2013-14 season … Appeared on the SEC Academic Honor Roll for the fourth time in her career … Graduated in May 2014 with degrees in finance, and risk management and insurance with a minor in psychology. 2012-13 (JUNIOR): Posted a strong doubles campaign for the Gamecocks, playing exclusively with Jaklin Alawi … Ranked nationally in doubles for much of the spring with Alawi … The duo finished the season ranked No. 28, their highest billing of the year … She and Alawi compiled a 24-11 record together, making them the winningest duo for a single season since 2001-02 … Their two best wins of the season came against Auburn and Alabama … Versus the Tigers, they upended Plamena Kurteva and Pleun Burgmans 8-5 in helping Carolina down then-No. 18 Auburn … Kurteva and Burgmans finished the season ranked No. 19 … Also snagged an 8-6 victory from Mary Anne Macfarlane and Alexa Guarachi of Alabama, a duo that finished the season ranked No. 3 … Posted wins against duos that ended the season ranked Nos. 31, 41, 58 and 67 as well … Received an at-large bid to the NCAA Doubles Championship with Alawi, becoming the first South Carolina duo to compete in the event since 2009 … Saw limited action during the fall because of injuries … The Gamecocks’ regular starter at No. 4 singles during the spring … Contributed a win in singles against Auburn that helped the Gamecocks secure a 4-1 victory … Named SEC Player of the Week following her performances against Auburn and Alabama … Won both singles matches at Arkansas and LSU in helping Carolina sweep the two schools on the road for the first time since 2007 … A member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll for the third year in a row. 2011-12 (SOPHOMORE): Won her first four matches to the begin the season in singles … Had a strong fall with a 7-2 record between three tournaments … Had the most doubles victories as an individual in the fall with an 8-2 mark … Began the fall campaign ranked No. 45 nationally in doubles with Anya Morgina … Played doubles with nearly every member of the squad, but ended the year playing mainly with Morgina … Began the spring season playing at Nos. 4 and 5 singles before moving up to the No. 3 spot in February following an injury to Dijana Stojic … Won six of her first seven singles matches in the spring to run her record to 13-3 at the time … Earned a dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory against Alex Leatu of Vanderbilt on March 9, a player who held the No. 1 singles spot for the Commodores for much of the 2011 season … Her most memorable singles match of the year came at Auburn on April 1 … Kanakova clinched South Carolina’s 4-3 win against the Tigers, an emotional match that came a day after the passing of longtime coach Arlo Elkins, who had stepped aside a month earlier for health reasons … Kanakova lost the first set to Plamena Kurteva 6-2 and trailed 4-2 in the second before breaking back to make it 5-all … She won the second set in a tiebreaker and then claimed the third set 7-5 … Kanakova also shined in doubles versus the Tigers, clinching the point with Adriana Pereira on court two … Kanakova and Pereira trailed 7-3 but fought back to win in a tiebreaker 7-5 against a duo ranked No. 36 in the nation … Recognized as an ITA Scholar Athlete for achieving a minimum 3.5 GPA for the academic year … Also a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll for the second year in a row. 2010-11 (FRESHMAN): A major contributor for the Gamecocks during her freshman year … Had the second-most singles victories on the season with a 22-10 record and tied with Dijana Stojic for the most dual wins with a 15-7 slate … Entered the spring season ranked 37th nationally in doubles with Anya Morgina … Also ranked as high as No. 34 with Stojic during the spring … Ended the season ranked 65th with Morgina and 84th with Stojic … Became the first player in school history to end the season with a national doubles ranking with two different partners … Teamed with Morgina for doubles at her first collegiate tournament, the SEC Fall Coaches Classic … The two defeated teams from Vanderbilt, Auburn and Alabama to win their respective flight … Posted a strong showing at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic with a 3-0 record, dropping just 10 games between her three matches … Had an unblemished record in her flight at the Furman Fall Classic as well to earn champion honors for flight six … Played on courts four and five during the spring … In doubles, Kanakova played every dual match at the top position with Stojic and Morgina … Opened the dual match campaign winning eight of her first nine matches in singles … Scored the first of three top-15 wins in doubles during the spring when she and Stojic downed then-No. 13 Jennifer Robot and Mara Schmidt from Purdue on Feb. 12 … Their next victim was the Alabama duo of Alexa Guarachi and Courtney McLane, who were rated seventh at the time of the March 13 match up … Kanakova and Morgina teamed to defeat then-No. 9 Chelsey Gullickson and Kate Fuller of Georgia on April 10 to help the Gamecocks take the doubles point from the Bulldogs … Beat the first ranked player in her singles career with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win over then-No. 118 Rachael Dillon of Vanderbilt on April 1 … Notched an important win over Laura van de Stroet from Ole Miss by scores of 6-1, 6-4 on court four in the first round of the SEC Tournament to help South Carolina record a 4-3 win over the Rebels to reach the quarterfinals … Following a loss in doubles to Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Kanakova began the Gamecocks’ 4-2 rally win with a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 4 singles against Kim Stubbe … A member of the SEC Freshmen Academic Honor Roll. HIGH SCHOOL: Ranked as high as 185th in the world while playing on the International Tennis Federation junior circuit … Had a career singles record of 34-31 and was 27-26 in doubles playing ITF events … Won the singles and doubles titles for the under 14 division of Czech Republic national tournaments … Claimed the silver medal with her team at the Czech Republic National Team Championships … In the under 14s of the European Indoor Team Championships, Kanakova played the No. 1 singles position and helped the squad place second … In summer 2005, her team took fourth at the European Team Championships and sixth at the World Team Championships … Finished in third place in doubles in the European Championships in the under 14s … Ranked fifth in the European rankings for players under 14 at the end of 2004 … Was the national doubles champion for Czech Republic in the under 12 division.