Wichita State Defeats South Carolina to Advance to the Second-Round of the Coral Gables Regional
May 12, 2007
Coral Gables, Fla. – Thirty-fifth-ranked Wichita State upset 25th ranked South Carolina, 4-3, in the opening match of the 2006 NCAA Women’s Tennis Coral Gables Regional at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Miami.
Wichita State (27-2) advances to Sunday’s 12 p.m. second-round match against the winner of today’s Miami/Alabama A&M match. The winner of Sunday’s match advances to the NCAA Championship Round of 16, May 18-22, in Athens, G.A.
The early morning match that led into a nail-biting afternoon began with Wichita capturing the doubles point. After South Carolina claimed the No. 1 spot with Laura Ganzer and Miranda Gutierrez defeating Lenore Lazaroiu and Jackie Richey, 8-2, the Shockers jumped on the board with an early upset, as non-ranked Stephanie Dalmacio and Anna Egorova downed No. 57-ranked Christyn Lucas and Natasa Vuckovic 8-5 at the No. 2 position. In the final doubles match, Wichita’s Madina Rakhim and Florentina Hanisch landed an upset of their own at the No. 1 slot, as they defeated the 35th-ranked doubles duo, Gira Schofield and Ana Marija Zubori of South Carolina, 8-6 to clinch the doubles point.
South Carolina quickly shifted gears and turned the points around in their favor as Miranda Gutierrez (Tampa, Fla.) downed Torrie Browning (Tucson, Ariz.) 6-1, 6-0 at the No.6 position, followed by a 6-0, 6-3 win by the Gamecocks’ Natasa Vuckovic (Novi Sad, Serbia) over Lenore Lazaroiu (Brasou, Romania) at the No. 3 singles spot.
No. 109-ranked Ana Marija Zubori (Mulhouse, France) added the third singles point for the Gamecocks, as she downed Florentina Hanisch (Florianopolis, Brazil) 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 2 spot, to put South Carolina up 3-1 over Wichita State.
Not to be out-done, Wichita State rallied back with a vengeance, as Ana Egorova (Voskresensk, Russia) defeated South Carolina’s Christyn Lucas (Miami, Fla.) at the No. 5 spot, 6-3, 6-2, while No. 63-ranked Madina Rakhim (Almaty, Kazakhstan) faced forty-seventh-ranked Gira Schofield (Boca Raton, Fla.) at the No. 1 spot, and captured the second singles point for the Shockers, with a score of 7-6, 6-1.
With the match set at 3-3, it came down to the No. 4 singles match-up with Stephanie Delmacio (Brazilia, Brazil) and Laura Ganzer (Schwalbach, Germany). They battled it out in a three-set tie-breaker with Ganzer taking the lead at 7-5, followed by Dalmacio taking the second set at 7-6. With the third set at 3-3, Delmacio finished it out with a 4-3 victory, and the match win for the Shockers.
NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championships – First Round
Neil Schiff Tennis Center – Coral Gables, Fla.
May 12, 2007
#35 Wichita State University 4, #25 University of South Carolina 3
Singles competition
1. #63 Madina Rakhim (WSU) def. #47 Gira Schofield (SC) 7-6, 6-1
2. #109 Ana Marija Zubori (SC) def. Florentina Hanisch (WSU) 6-3, 6-1
3. Natasa Vuckovic (SC) def. Lenore Lazaroiu (WSU) 6-0, 6-3
4. Stephanie Dalmacio (WSU) def. Laura Ganzer (SC) 5-7, 7-6, 4-3
5. Anna Egorova (WSU) def. Christyn Lucas (SC) 6-3, 6-2
6. Miranda Gutierrez (SC) def. Torrie Browning (WSU) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Madina Rakhim/Florentina Hanisch (WSU) def. #35 Gira Schofield/Ana Marija Zubori (SC) 8-6
2. Stephanie Dalmacio/Anna Egorova (WSU) def. #57 Christyn Lucas/Natasa Vuckovic (SC) 8-5
3. Laura Ganzer/Miranda Gutierrez (SC) def. Lenore Lazaroiu/Jackie Richey (WSU) 8-2
Match Notes:
Wichita State University 27-2, 11-0 MVC; National ranking #35
University of South Carolina 16-7, 8-3 SEC; National ranking #25
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,3,2,5,1,4)
