May 14, 2011

Gainesville, Fla. - Arizona fell to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships held at Linder Stadium at the Ring Tennis Complex on Saturday.

Arizona clinched the doubles point winning two of three matches. Natasha Marks and Lacey Smyth teamed up on court one to play the 40th ranked duo of Anya Morgina and Dominika Kanakova. The junior-freshman team defeated the South Carolina team, 8-3. Second to finish was the team of Susan Mc Rann and Jane Huh on court three. The Wildcat duo fell 8-4 to Dijana Stoic and Adriana Pereira. On court two, Sarah Landsman and Kim Stubbe battled Milijana Jocic and Katerina Popova. Landsman and Stubbe won the match 8-6 to clinch the doubles point for the Cats.

In singles action the Cats lost four matches and ended their season with a 4-2 loss. First to finish was Stubbe on court four. The freshman from Mol, Belgium fell to Kanakova, 6-4, 6-2. Huh was next to finish on court six. The team's sole senior was edged 6-3, 6-2 by Jocic. On court two, Landsman finished third with her 7-6, 6-1 defeat of the 96th-ranked Dijana Stojic. The win marked the Cats' only singles win of the day. Mc Rann was next to finish on court five. The freshman from Dublin, Ireland fell 7-6(4), 6-3 to Pereira. On court one, Marks was last to finish. The junior from Nottingham, England was edged 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 by the 44th-ranked Morgina. Smyth, on court three, led Propova in the third set but the match was unable to be finished.

"We played a well-fought match today," said head coach Vicky Maes. "We're a bit disappointed letting this slip away after having the momentum going into singles, but overall we have a lot of great experiences to look back on. I'm really proud of our team and how we battled all year. Our girls learned a lot of lessons, played really united, and made a steady rise in the rankings. We have a lot to look forward to going into next year with the addition of two new highly rated freshmen and certainly feel that we will, once again, be able to continue our move upward."

The Gamecocks improve to 14-10 while the Wildcats conclude the season with a 15-7 record.

NCAA Women's Tennis Championships First Round
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, Fla.
Saturday, May 14, 2011

No. 35 South Carolina def. No. 34 Arizona, 4-2

Doubles:
1. Marks/Smyth (UA) def. #40 Morgina/Kanakova (USC), 8-3
2. Landsman/Stubbe (UA) def. Jocic/Popova (USC), 8-6
3. Stoic/Pereira (USC) def Mc Rann/Huh (UA), 8-4
Order of finish 1, 3, 2

Singles:
1. #44 Anya Morgina (USC) def. Natasha Marks (UA), 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
2. Sarah Landsman (UA) def. #96 Dijana Strjic (USC), 7-6, 6-1
3. Lacey Smyth (UA) led Katerina Popova (USC), 4-6, 6-2, 3-2 DNF
4. Dominika Kanakova (USC) def. Kim Stubbe (UA), 6-4, 6-2
5. Adriana Pereira (USC) def. Susan Mc Rann (UA), 7-6(4), 6-3
6. Milijana Jocic (USC) def. Jane Huh (UA), 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish 4, 6, 2, 5, 1

Updated records: Arizona (15-7) South Carolina (14-10)