The second-ranked University of Florida women’s tennis team passed its first road test of the season with an impressive and hard-fought 5-2 victory against No. 4 North Carolina Saturday afternoon at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
“It was NCAA Finals intensity at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center today,” said UF’s Roland Thornqvist, who collected his 298th head coaching win. “I was really proud of the way we competed. We didn’t play at the top of our game in some spots, but we sure showed a lot of guts and competed our way out of some spots. This North Carolina team, especially playing at home, is really tough to beat. They are well coached and they have a lot of enthusiasm and emotion and I was very proud to see how we battle our way through today.”
The Gators (6-0) found themselves down early on the doubles courts, where the top-ranked team of freshman Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium) and sophomore Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) lost to eighth-ranked Shinann Featherston and Lauren McHale, 8-3, snapping its 14-match winning streak, a run that was ninth-longest in program history.
Florida evened things up when Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.) defeated Jelena Dursic and Tessa Lyons, 8-5, on court No. 2.
The doubles point rested on the shoulders of UF freshman Alex Cercone (Seminole, Fla.) and sophomore Caroline Hitimana (Waterloo, Belgium), who were squaring off against sophomores Zoe De Bruycker and Gina Suarez-Malaguti.
The young Gator tandem set up match point, serving at 6-4, but couldn’t finish and the Tar Heel team eventually forced a tiebreak, where Cercone and Hitimana finally won on their seventh match point opportunity.
“It was close in doubles, but we found a way,” Thornqvist said. “In the final doubles match, we had six match points and finally put it away with the seventh.
“We did an equally impressive job in singles. We showed why we are a tough team to beat. We won the match with our minds, with our legs and our big hearts,” Thornqvist continued.
Florida found itself in an extremely tight battle early on the singles courts, where Cercone rallied in her first set against Haley Hemm to force a tiebreak and eventually earn the straight set victory that gave the Gators a 2-0 lead.
Mather also rallied in her No. 4 singles match against Suarez-Malaguti, after dropping the first set, before punching the 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory that gave the Gators a 3-0 lead in the team scoring.
North Carolina (5-1) finally got on the board when McHale regrouped from a fast start from UF freshman Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.) and tallied the 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 decision at the No. 5 position.
Will, ranked No. 7 in the country, then provided the clinching dual match victory with her 6-4, 6-3 win against the 13th-ranked De Bruycker on the showcase court, before Embree gutted out a long two-hour victory against Featherston, 7-6, 7-5, on court No. 2.
Oyen lost a tough decision for the second consecutive match, this time falling to senior Jelena Dursic, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, at the No. 3 spot in the final match of the day.
Florida doesn’t have much time to enjoy its biggest win of the young season, as the team takes on No. 6 Duke (5-0) Sunday at noon in Durham.
“We have to do a good job of recovering now because we play an equally talented Duke team on Sunday,” Thornqvist said.
No. 2 Florida at No. 4 North Carolina
Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center
Chapel Hill, NC
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Final Score: Florida 5, North Carolina 2
Doubles
1. #8 Shinann Featherston/Lauren McHale, UNC d. #1 Sofie Oyen/Allie Will, UF, 8-3
2. Lauren Embree/Joanna Mather, UF d. #80 Jelena Dursic/Tessa Lyons, UNC, 8-5
3. Alex Cercone/Caroline Hitimana, UF d. Zoe De Bruycker/Gina Suarez-Malaguti, UNC, 9-8 (7)*
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3*
Singles
1. #7 Allie Will, UF d. #13 Zoe De Bruycker, UNC, 6-4, 6-3*
2. Lauren Embree, UF d. #54 Shinann Featherston, UNC, 7-6, 7-5
3. #92 Jelena Durisic, UNC d. #96 Sofie Oyen, UF, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
4. #30 Joanna Mather, UF d. Gina Suarez-Malaguti, UNC, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
5. #86 Lauren McHale, UNC d. #22 Olivia Janowicz, UF 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. #28 Alex Cercone, UF d. Haley Hemm, UNC, 7-6, 6-0
Order of finish: 6, 4, 5, 1*, 2, 3
Updated Records: Florida 6-0, North Carolina 5-1
