Gamecocks ride 3-match win streak into regular season finale Saturday
The South Carolina women’s tennis team will play its final match of the 2012 regular season on Saturday, fittingly against the most formidable team in the SEC and the nation, Florida, which has not lost a match since the middle of February.
The No. 27 Gamecocks (14-6), who have jumped up five spots in the rankings, will face off against No. 2 Florida (17-1) at the Carolina Tennis Center. Both teams are currently riding winning streaks, though Florida’s extends all the way back to Feb. 29. The Gamecocks have three consecutive SEC victories, including a shutout of Arkansas last Sunday.
The final regular-season match will also be South Carolina’s fourth since the passing of their longtime coach, Arlo Elkins. As tough a transition as the team has faced, interim head coach Katarina Petrovic and her squad have battled and look to continue their winning ways on Saturday.
While their toughest match of the season may have come on April 1 at Auburn, the day after Elkins passed away, this weekend’s contest against the Gators will be the Gamecocks’ most difficult one on paper.
After last weekend’s victory, sophomore Dominika Kanakova voiced how desperately she and her team want to continue the winning streak in honor of their late coach.
“It’s challenging for me to play at a higher position,” Kanakova said. “I know I have to play my best tennis. I always try to give 100 percent and these matches can only give me positive things and I can only improve playing at this position. As a team — I’m really proud of my team — I think we are more together after everything that has happened. I think we are all playing well.”
Under forecasted perfect conditions of sunny skies and temperatures in the high 80s, both sides of the net will see respectable opponents facing them. South Carolina features three ranked singles players, including senior Anya Morgina, who was just named the AgSouth Athlete of the Week and is currently No. 40 in the national singles field.
The incoming Gators, however, boast even more highly ranked players. The squad includes six nationally ranked singles players, three of whom are in the top 25. They also feature three ranked doubles groups, while South Carolina has two pairs that are ranked outside of the top 50. In both categories of singles and doubles, Florida owns the No. 1 position.
Both squads have fared well in conference play thus far and will pay close attention to their matchup this weekend. With the SEC tournament just a week away, the Gators and Gamecocks may face off again in the near future, and anything that can be gained from such a high-profile matchup will be remembered and utilized in a potential postseason rematch.
Senior Dijana Stojic realizes this will be the first time she will end a season at South Carolina under the direction of someone other than Elkins, but she and her teammates look to remain optimistic.
“In a situation like this, it always brings the team together,” Stojic said last week. “I think we’re stronger and closer. It will be hard to finish the season without Arlo, but we’ll give our best and try to do that for him.”