Cougars Upset South Carolina

PROVO -- The No. 52 BYU women's tennis team recorded a series of upsets on Thursday night as it handily defeated No. 33 South Carolina 5-1. With the win the Cougars improve to 8-6 on the season and extend their four-match winning streak.

To start things off, Kristina Doerr and Dolly Chang remained undefeated on the season with their win at the No. 2 position. The pair has won each of its 12 matches this season. Anastasia Surkova and Jennifer Miccoli clinched the doubles point for BYU, beating the No. 19-ranked duo of Gira Schofield and Ana Zubori (8-4).

Elle Carney and Chie Hayasaka came back to win after being down 7-4, completing a full Cougar sweep in doubles play.

"We played really well," said BYU head coach Craig Manning. "[South Carolina] is a good, tough team. I'm impressed with how well we're playing at doubles. It's just amazing."

The Gamecocks evened things up in singles action after Natasa Vuckovic defeated Hayasaka in straight sets. The remaining four matches were forced into three sets.

After winning their first sets, both Chang and Doerr dropped their second, but battled back to score two more points for BYU. Doerr's 7-6, 1-6, 6-2 win came against South Carolina's No. 69 Zubori. Surkova also notched a victory against a ranked foe by downing No. 23 Schofield and ensuring the overall win for the Cougars.

"We try to get better all the time," said Manning. "If we stay on the same path we're on, the wins and losses will take care of themselves. We're right there."

The Cougars have the weekend off before traveling to take on Cal Berkley and Fresno State next week.

RESULTS
No. 33 South Carolina - 1
No. 52 Brigham Young - 5
March 13, 2008
Singles
1.  A. Surkova (BYU) def. No. 23 G. Schofield (SC) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
2.  No. 85 K. Doerr (BYU) def. No. 69 A. Zubori (SC) 7-6, 1-6, 6-2
3.  N. Vuckovic (SC) def. C. Hayasaka (BYU) 6-2, 6-2
4.  D. Chang (BYU) def. S. Mansour (SC) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
5.  E. Ezhova (BYU) def. M. McGavock (SC) 6-4, 6-7, 10-7
6.  E. Carney (BYU) vs. J. Rajic (SC) [DNP]
Order of Finish: 3, 4, 2, 1, 5
Doubles
1.  Surkova/Miccoli (BYU) def. No. 19 Schofield/Zubori (SC) 8-4
2.  Chang/Doerr (BYU) def. Mansour/McGavock (SC) 8-3
3.  Carney/Hayasaka (BYU) def. Rajic/Vuckovic (SC) 9-7
Order of FInish: 2, 1, 3