Madeleine Saari-Byström

2009-10 (FRESHMAN): One of the hardest workers for the Gamecocks both on the court and in the classroom … After a 1-5 start in the fall during her first two tournaments, she ended the campaign strong by earning co-champion honors of her flight at the Wildcat Invitational by winning three straight matches to make the finals … Play was halted at the event because of weather problems and teams’ travel arrangements … Won four consecutive matches in the spring against Winthrop, Clemson, College of Charleston and USF … Clinched South Carolina’s win over USF, a team ranked No. 20 at the time, by overcoming a 4-1 deficit in the third set and several match points for her opponent … Sat out six matches in a row following a loss to Alabama on March 12 because of an injury to her right arm … Reentered the lineup against Vanderbilt on April 4 and scored a three set triumph over Hannah Blatt at No. 6 singles to clinch the match for the Gamecocks … Won her next three matches at six singles after Vandy and finished 4-1 at the position … Began the season playing doubles with Josefin Andersson and then joined forces with Miljana Jocic after Andersson’s season-ending injury … Finished out the year playing No. 3 doubles with Adriana Pereira … A member of the SEC Freshmen Academic Honor Roll.

HIGH SCHOOL: Won the Bastad in Sweden for the girls 14s as well as the Nike Masters in Sweden for the under-14 age group … Ranked first for the Swedish Cup for seniors after summer 2009 … A finalist for the Swedish Cup for all seniors in summer 2007 … Semifinalist at an International Tennis Federation event in Falkenberg, Sweden, in 2008 … Made the finals of the tournament in doubles as well … Also a Doubles finalist at a 2008 ITF event in Amiens, France … Made the semifinals in singles at the Salk Open, an ITF juniors event, in 2007 and 2008 … Won three matches to qualify for the Nokia Junior Cup in October 2006 in Finland and reached the quarterfinals of the main draw … Quarterfinalist at the 2006 Tennis Sweden Junior Cup and ITF Oslo Indoor … Won the 2006 Sweden Junior Open doubles title partnering with Julia Klackenberg … Doubles finalist at the 2006 ITF TaTS Open in Finland as well as the HRT Winter Cup in Denmark in 2007.

PERSONAL: Pursuing a degree in business … Born July 5, 1990, in Sundsvall, Sweden … Full name is Madeleine Young-Hee Saari-Byström … Her mother’s name is Catrin Saari and father is Jorgen Bystrom … Has one brother, Tim … Prefers to use Babolat Pure Drive rackets.

MADELEINE SAARI-BYSTROM PHOTO GALLERY