May 23, 2007

ATHENS, Ga. -- University of South Carolina women's tennis player Gira Schofield lost in the opening round of the NCAA Singles Championship on Wednesday in Athens, Ga.

Schofield, who is ranked 47th in the nation, dropped a 7-6, 6-2 decision to No. 40 Tracy Lin of UCLA. The loss put the sophomore's final record at 17-16 for the 2006-07 campaign.

It was Schofield's second appearance in the tournament after becoming just the second Gamecock to make the field as a freshman in 2006. She lost in the first round last year to Anna Lubinsky of Texas A&M by scores of 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

After a 6-5 record in SEC matches at the No. 1 position, Schofield became only the second player in school history to earn first-team All-SEC honors. Overall, she was 13-9 playing the toughest position in college tennis.