The Florida women’s tennis team defeated Tennessee 4-0 and secured at least a share of its 25th Southeastern Conference regular-season championship in the 32 years the league has sponsored the sport.
Sunday’s victory against the 14th-ranked Lady Vols (16-5, 8-1 SEC) was the Gator’s 11th consecutive win and its 24th straight against an SEC opponent.
· WATCH postmatch interviews with Olivia Janowicz, Joanna Mather and Sofie Oyen – FREE courtesy of GatorVision Online
· WATCH the postmatch interview with Head Coach Roland Thornqvist – FREE courtesy of GatorVision Online
The league title, which is the 199th in the history of the Florida athletics program, marks the seventh SEC championship in the 10-year tenure of head coach Roland Thornqvist.
“It feels really good,” Thornqvist said. “We were in the locker room after the match and it was a tough crowd. They weren’t going nuts and I was trying to tell them that they have to celebrate this in good fashion because any time you win an SEC trophy, it’s a great achievement. It’s a tremendous accomplishment because of all the good athletes and coaches that we’re up against each and every week.
“I’m really proud of this team,” Thornqvist continued. “I think we’ve come a long way. We’ve shown great toughness. Going into this weekend we knew it was going to be really difficult and for our players to be willing to change doubles teams leading up to this weekend and with no fear and selflessness and were willing to try what Dave [Balogh, Associate head coach] really believed was going to work for us, means a lot.”
Florida (21-1, 10-0 SEC) set the tone and won an intense battle for the doubles point, capturing the wins on courts two and three, with action on court one abandoned, on-serve at 7-6.
The Florida team of sophomore Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and freshman Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium) raced out to a 6-1 lead against 17th-ranked Rosalia Alda and Millie Nichols at the No. 2 spot thanks to a pair of breaks and love games served by both Gators. The next three serves held true and the UT pair broke in the 11th game, before Embree and Oyen broke for the third time in the match to claim the 6-4 win.
Junior Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.) and freshman Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.) found themselves trailing 5-2, down a pair of breaks, before staging a great rally against Jennifer Meredith and Kata Szekely. After breaking the Lady Vols, Janowicz held at love and the Gators broke at love, before Mather held for a 6-5 lead. UF again broke for a 7-5 advantage, but couldn’t serve out for the win, instead capitalizing on its first break and match-point en route to the 8-6 victory in 58 minutes that clinched the doubles point.
“I thought we played very well in doubles,” Thornqvist said. “For our three [position] team to come back and win against an undefeated Tennessee team was really good for us. That could be the catalyst for the rest of the year for that team. I thought I saw that in singles, too.”
Janowicz carried the momentum from the doubles rally onto the singles court, where she was the first off with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Millie Nichols that gave the Gators a 2-0 lead and notched her 13th consecutive singles win. The Gaotr rookie raced out to a 5-0 lead, before Nichols found her footing and won three straight games. Janowicz closed the set by breaking Nichols and won the first two games to start the second. Nichols won the next two games, before Janowicz held, broke and held again for a 5-2 lead en route to the straight-set victory.
Freshman Alex Cercone (Seminole, Fla.) followed with a 6-1, 6-3 win on court five against Maria Sorbello, as Cercone collected her seventh consecutive singles victory, as well as her team-best 30th win overall this year. The youngster held to begin the match and broke Sorbello at love. Sorbello came right back with a break of her own, but lost her serve and Cercone held for a 4-1 lead, before winning eight of the next 10 points to close out the first set. She again jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second and held a 3-0 after her second break of the frame. Sorbello got on track in the next game and held to inch closer at 3-2, but Cercone held her next two trips to the baseline and broke the Lady Vol senior for the win and a 3-0 Gator lead.
Oyen polished off the dual match victory with her 6-1, 6-3 decision against Kata Szekely on court four in one hour and 27 minutes. Oyen raced out to a 5-0 lead and a pair of breaks before Szekely prevented the bagel by holding in the sixth game. Oyen began the second set with a break, but lost her serve and the next two serves held to form. Oyen struck again with another break in the fifth game and next three games were on serve. In the ninth game Oyen fought off two game points, as Szekely double-faulted for duce and threw in another to set up match point, where Oyen capitalized and sealed at least a share of the SEC title for Florida.
“Our freshmen in singles were just business-like,” Thornqvist said. “They play with poise now and don’t give away points. We’ve been trying to tell them to be tough in the heat and in the way we play. I was just very pleased. I was happy to see that it was our three freshmen that finished the day. Our three returners have been rock-solid since the day they stepped on campus. Now, we don’t have to always count on those three, our freshmen are freshmen no longer.”
The singles matches involving Mather, Embree and sophomore Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) were abandoned once the Gators clinched the dual match victory.
Florida will look to claim the SEC title outright on Saturday, April 16, when the team plays host to South Carolina beginning at 3 p.m. at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
“We still have one match to go and I know our players don’t want to share this SEC trophy with anyone so I’m not worried about having to motivate them for Saturday,” Thornqvist said.
No. 14 Tennessee at No. 2 Florida
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, Fla.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Final Score: Florida 4, Tennessee 0
Doubles
1. #16 Allie Will/Alex Cercone, UF vs. #44 Brynn Boren/Natalie Pluskota, UT, UF led 7-6 DNF, on serve
2. Lauren Embree/Sofie Oyen, UF d. #17 Rosalia Alda/Millie Nichols, UT, 8-4
3. Joanna Mather/Olivia Janowicz, UF d. Jennifer Meredith/Kata Szekely, UT, 8-6*
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
Singles
1. #33 Lauren Embree, UF vs. #31 Natalie Pluskota, UT – DNF UF led, serving 7-5, 4-3
2. #6 Allie Will, UF vs. #94 Rosalia Alda, UT – DNF UT led 6-4, 3-2
3. #28 Joanna Mather, UF vs. #37 Brynn Boren, UT – DNF UF led 6-4, 4-5
4. #93 Sofie Oyen, UF d. Kata Szekely, UT, 6-1, 6-3*
5. #47 Alex Cercone, UF d. Maria Sorbello, UT, 6-1, 6-3
6. #41 Olivia Janowicz, UF d. Millie Nichols, UT, 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 4*
Updated Records: Florida 21-1, 10-0 SEC; Tennessee 16-5, 8-1 SEC
*clinching doubles and dual match point
