Florida took down a red-hot Clemson team, 4-0, and earned a spot in the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Saturday at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
Florida faces No. 6 Duke on Sunday in the semifinals. It will be the second meeting this week between the Blue Devils and Gators, who won the hard-fought 4-2 decision in Durham on Sun., Feb. 13.
The Gators have won the ITA National Team Indoor Championships title six times, but not since 1999. Sunday’s semifinal appearance will be Florida’s first since 2003, when the team finished runner-up to Duke.
The 12th-ranked Tigers were coming off a 4-3 upset against No. 7 UCLA on Friday, but the Gators (9-0) were able to battle for the doubles point and collected singles victories from a freshman and two sophomores and earned the quarterfinal win.
“Once again, we competed real well,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “Clemson is a tough and very talented team, but we fought really hard. We’re starting to get really good at closely contested matches and that’s a great sign for the future. Even our freshmen are starting to get really tough and have thicker skin and that was the difference today.”
In the first time ever playing together on the doubles court, Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and Caroline Hitimana (Waterloo, Belgium) stepped up and made it look easy, as the Gator sophomores earned an 8-1 victory over Nelly Ciolkowski and Caroline Magnusson at the No. 2 position and provide the first decision of the dual match.
The featured pairing showcased UF’s top-ranked team of Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium) and Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) against Clemson’s second-ranked duo of Josipa Bek and Keri Wong, which emerged with an 8-4 win, setting the stage for court three to claim the doubles point.
“That was high-level tennis being played on that doubles court,” Thornqvist said. “I was real impressed with Clemson’s team. We were a little too defensive today and that was a difference in that match. Hopefully, we’ll get another chance to play them outside where our defense can maybe make more of a difference.”
The Gator rookie tandem of Alex Cercone (Seminole, Fla.) and Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.) rose to the occasion on court No. 3 and earned an 8-3 win against Maria Belaya and Klara Vyskocilova and gave Florida the doubles point.
Janowicz then earned her second singles win at the event and gave the Gators a 2-0 lead when she defeated Belaya, 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 5 position.
“Playing dual matches is obviously something very different than playing individual tournaments and all three of our freshmen are finding that out,” Thornqvist said. “We’ve played some really good teams in the last couple of weeks and developed thicker skin as a result. Olivia is certainly one of those freshmen and is playing well and did an outstanding job today.”
Will came through with an impressive 6-3, 6-2 victory against 14th-ranked Bek on court No. 1, as the Gator sophomore earned her eighth consecutive win and improved her career singles record to 65-7, including a 34-1 dual match mark.
Embree, the nation’s 36-th-ranked singles player, provided the clinching dual match point with a 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 victory against the 37th-ranked Wong, as she improved to 7-0 in singles action this year.
“Wong is a talented player who likes to mix things up and sometimes it’s hard to get into a good rhythm when you play her,” Thornqvist shared. “Lauren got a little frustrated, but competed her way back after being down in the first set. The second set went way too fast and Lauren was discouraged. In the third, she was as sharp as she’s been as year.”
National Team Indoor Championships Quarterfinals
Boar’s Head Sports Club
Charlottesville, Va.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Final Score: Florida 4, Clemson 0
Doubles
1. #2 Josipa Bek/Keri Wong, CU d. #1 Sofie Oyen/Allie Will, UF 8-4
2. Lauren Embree/Caroline Hitimana, UF d. Nelly Ciolkowski/Caroline Magnusson, CU, 8-1
3. Alex Cercone/Olivia Janowicz, UF d. Maria Belaya/Klara Vyskocilova, CU, 8-3*
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3*
Singles
1. #7 Allie Will, UF d. #14 Josipa Bek, CU, 6-3, 6-2
2. #36 Lauren Embree, UF d. #37 Keri Wong, 7-5, 1-6, 6-2*
3. Nelly Ciolkowski, CU led Sofie Oyen, UF, 7-6, 2-2 DNF
4. Klara Vyskocilova, CU led #40 Alex Cercone, UF, 6-4, 3-6, 3-2 DNF
5. #31 Olivia Janowicz, UF d. Maria Belaya, CU 6-2, 6-2
6. Caroline Magnusson, CU led Caroline Hitimana, UF 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 DNF
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 2*
Team Results
Quarterfinals, Feb. 19
#1 Stanford vs. #8 Michigan – later start
#4 North Carolina vs. #20 Northwestern – later start
#6 Duke d. #23 Virginia, 4-2
#2 Florida d. #12 Clemson, 4-0
Round of 16, Feb. 18
#1 Stanford d. #19 Arkansas, 4-0
#8 Michigan d. #13 Georgia Tech, 4-1
#4 North Carolina d. #18 Washington, 4-2
#20 Northwestern d. #5 California, 4-1
#6 Duke d. #11 Tennessee, 4-1
#23 Virginia d. #3 Baylor, 4-3
#12 Clemson d. #7 UCLA, 4-3
#2 Florida d. #9 Miami, 4-1
