The University of Florida women’s tennis team earned its second win against a top-10 team in as many days when the second-ranked Gators defeated No. 6 Duke, 4-2, Sunday afternoon at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.
Florida (7-0), which defeated No. 4 North Carolina on Saturday in Chapel Hill, presented Roland Thornqvist with the 299th head coaching win in his 15th year, which includes a 224-29 record during his 10 years with the Gators.
“It was another battle where we had to scratch for every point. It was another weekend when we just found a way to win,” Thornqvist said. “Sometimes champions have to find ways to win when things aren’t clicking and that’s what we did.
“I’m really proud of our team. We showed a lot of heart and courage,” Thornqvist continued. “We fought hard and were willing to be physical and get that extra ball back. Talented teams have to be willing to do that. We learned a lot this weekend. We have a very young team and we learned a lot from these battles. I’m real pleased that we could win two matches our first time on the road with such a young team.”
It didn’t look promising for the doubles point early in the match, as Florida’s Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.) earned an 8-6 win, but the Gators trailed on the other two courts.
Florida’s top-ranked pair of freshman Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium) and sophomore Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) trailed their No. 1 match to Ellah Nze and Monica Gorny, 7-3, before staging an amazing comeback and winning the match to clinch the doubles point.
Play was abandoned on court three with UF trailing 7-5 once the doubles point had been secured.
“At number one doubles, we certainly didn’t play up to our capabilities, but we fought back and clinched the doubles point and that ultimately proved to be the difference,” Thornqvist said.
The Gators took that momentum onto the singles court, where the two that rallied to clinch the doubles point were the first to post results individually.
Will gave Florida a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against No. 25 Nadine Fahoum at the No. 1 position.
Oyen followed with her 6-4, 6-3 win against No. 71 Elizabeth Plotkin on court No. 3 and put the Gators one victory from capturing the team decision.
Duke (6-1) answered with singles wins on courts No. 6 and No. 5 and closed the score to 3-2, before Mather rallied for a 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 victory versus Ellah Nze at the No. 4 position to seal Florida’s victory.
The match on court No. 2 between Embree and Duke’s No. 4-ranked Reka Zsilinszka had split sets and was entering a third when play was halted.
Florida returns to action on Thur., Feb. 17, when the Gators join 15 of the other top teams in the country in Charlottesville, Va., to compete for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships title. The draw for the 16-team, four-day event will be released Monday afternoon.
“This was exactly what we needed to get ready for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships next weekend where the best teams in the country will play,” Thornqvist said. “We certainly proved this weekend that we’re good enough to be in that mix.”
Women’s College Tennis
No. 2 Florida at No. 6 Duke
Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center
Durham, N.C.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Final Score: Florida 4, Duke 2
