March 21, 2008
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina women’s tennis team made it 19 consecutive wins over Mississippi State on Friday, defeating the Bulldogs 6-1 in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks improved to 9-5 and 2-3 in the SEC with the win while MSU dropped to 7-6 and 0-5.
South Carolina crushed the Bulldogs in doubles, losing no more than three games on each court. Gira Schofield and Ana Marija Zubori won first on court one, needing less than 30 minutes to defeat Martina Banikova and Elna de Villiers 8-0. Megan McGavock and Suzanna Mansour clinched the 1-0 lead with an 8-3 victory over Radka Ferancova and Renee Joseph at two. Jelena Rajic and Natasa Vuckovic upended Valeriya Makarycheva and DeAndra Saddler 8-3 at three doubles to complete the sweep.
Vuckovic quickly made the score 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-1 triumph against Ferancova on court three and McGavock pushed the lead to 3-0 after she made short work of Saddler 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5 singles. Within 20 minutes after McGavock’s win, Schofield gave Carolina the win with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Banikova at the top singles position.
De Villiers put Mississippi State on the board at the fourth spot where she beat Mansour in straight sets 6-1, 6-4. Less than a minute later, Zubori won her match against Joseph at No. 2 singles 6-2, 6-2. The last match on court six between Rajic and Makarycheva saw Rajic win 6-3, 6-2.
The Gamecocks travel to Oxford, Miss., for their next match against Ole Miss on Sunday at 1 p.m.
#33 South Carolina (9-5, 2-3 SEC) def. #59 Mississippi State (7-6, 0-5 SEC), 6-1
Singles
1. #44 Gira Schofield, USC, def. Martina Banikova, MSU, 6-2, 6-2
2. #75 Ana Marija Zubori, USC, def. Renee Joseph, MSU, 6-2, 6-2
3. Natasa Vuckovic, USC, def. Radka Ferancova, MSU, 6-3, 6-1
4. Elna de Villiers, MSU, def. Suzanna Mansour, USC, 6-1, 6-4
5. Megan McGavock, USC, def. DeAndra Saddler, MSU, 6-2, 6-3
6. Jelena Rajic, USC, def. Valeriya Makarycheva, MSU, 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 5, 1, 4, 2, 6
Doubles
1. #33 Schofield/Zubori, USC, def. Banikova/de Villiers, MSU, 8-0
2. McGavock/Mansour, USC, def. Ferancova/Joseph, MSU, 8-3
3. Rajic/Vuckovic, USC, def. Makarycheva/Saddler, MSU, 8-3
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
