Morgina, Gamecocks to host Tennessee, Georgia
Anya Morgina has been a leader on the USC tennis team all season, winning her last eight consecutive singles matches and improving her national ranking to No. 39.
The junior will lead her teammates in some of their toughest matches of the year as the Gamecocks face Tennessee and Georgia this weekend.
"She moved up from playing [No. 3 singles] last year to No. 1 this year," said coach Arlo Elkins. "She started out slow at the beginning of the year, but she's found her stride now if she can keep it up. She's got some really tough players that she's going up against this weekend, and she's going to have to play her best tennis."
No. 16 Tennessee boasts three singles players ranked in the top 100 in the nation as well as two doubles teams ranked in the top 50. The Volunteers' No. 1 singles player, Natalie Pluskota, is ranked No. 31. Although she narrowly lost her last match against Kristi Boxx of Ole Miss, she has put together a 6-1 record in SEC play.
No. 8 Georgia is an even greater force to be reckoned with. The team has won 12 consecutive matches and will face Florida today in a match that may determine the conference champion. Maho Kowase, the No. 1 singles player, is ranked No. 91 in the nation, and the Bulldogs also have two top-50 doubles teams.
USC lost a close 4-3 match against the Volunteers last year. The Gamecocks lost to the Bulldogs during the regular season but defeated them in the SEC Tournament.
"What we try to do is just take one match at a time," Elkins said. "So we're going to get ready for Tennessee on Friday and Georgia on [Sunday, which is] Senior Day. [Miljana Jocic] is our only senior. But we're just looking at one match at a time. We're not looking at what we did last year or what we have coming up. We're just looking at the first match first and the second match next."
Jocic has a record of 11-4 in her senior season, including a mark of 2-1 in SEC play.
USC enters the weekend coming off a dominant 6-1 victory against Kentucky on Sunday. The match put an end to a two-game losing streak for the Gamecocks. Carolina won all three doubles matches to claim the doubles point, and Morgina claimed her team-leading 22nd win in straight sets.
"Any match you win in the SEC helps your confidence," Elkins said. "It's a tough conference, so any match you win helps."
With the conference tournament less than two weeks away, every match is critical in the scramble for a good seed. But the team's strategy for this weekend is simple.
"We have to play our best tennis," Elkins said. "We have to be fired up."