The University of Florida’s Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.) was instrumental in the Gator’s impressive road wins and was recognized for her performance as the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, the league announced Wednesday.
This is the first time in her career the Gator junior has been honored by the SEC with its weekly award, as Mather compiled a combined 6-0 singles and doubles record and helped Florida defeat three top-25-ranked teams, including a pair of road wins at No. 4 North Carolina and at No. 6 Duke. The Gators began the week with a 5-2 win against No. 25 South Florida.
Among her three singles wins, Mather provided the clinching dual match decision in the hard-fought match against the Blue Devils, as she rallied for a 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 win against No. 49 Ellah Nze. That clinching match was the 60th singles victory of her career.
In doubles, she and her partner Lauren Embree were unranked and knocked off two nationally-ranked opponents, with the biggest two wins coming on the road at North Carolina and Duke, where their match was needed to win the doubles point both times, as the other two matches split against the Tar Heels and UF was losing in the third versus the Blue Devils.
Florida’s next competition is on Friday, Feb. 18 in the round of 16 at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The Gators (7-0) earned the No. 2 seed in the 16-team, four-day event and will play Miami (Fla.) at 9 a.m. at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va.
