Top-seeded
Florida advanced to the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals after its
4-0 victory against eighth-seeded and No. 20 Tennessee Friday evening at
Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
Third-ranked
Florida will play fourth-seeded and tournament host Ole Miss on Saturday at 3
p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT. The 16th-ranked Rebels defeated Vanderbilt, 4-0 in their
quarterfinal match, as the top four seeds each advanced with sweeps, with No. 2
Alabama blanking Arkansas and No. 3 Georgia downing South Carolina.
“I’m
sure it’s going to be a fun match,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said
of playing Ole Miss on Saturday. “We’ll have our hands full. They know how to
play doubles also. They’re really talented at the top of their lineup and
gritty at the bottom of it, so absolutely we’ve got our hands full. But we’re
eager. It’s going to be a great challenge for us, and we’re excited about it.”
The
Gators, who improved to 25-0 all-time in SEC Tournament quarterfinal matches,
won the doubles point to take the early lead. Singles matches were early in the
first set on all six courts when rain forced the rest of the dual match
indoors. After a 30-minute delay to relocate to the three courts at the Gillom
Sports Center, action resumed for positions four, five and six.
Alexandra
Cercone
(Seminole, Fla.) was the first to complete her singles match and posted a 6-2,
6-1 victory against Joanna Henderson to earn her eighth consecutive singles
victory and give Florida (19-1) and 2-0 lead in the team scoring. Cercone held
a 4-1 lead in the first set before the weather forced the match inside, where the
first three games were breaks and Cercone taking the first frame. She then
raced out to a 4-0 lead en route to the win.
Sofie
Oyen
(Leopoldsburg, Belgium) then downed Caitlyn Williams, 6-2, 6-2, and Florida
took a 3-0 lead, as the Gator sophomore won the first three games after moving
indoors to build upon her 4-2 advantage. She then won a long sixth game in the
second set to break Williams and cruised in the final two games to earn the
victory.
Sophomore
Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.) provided the clinching dual match win
when she completed a 6-1, 7-5 decision against Jesse Grace. Janowicz also came
out strong on the indoor courts, where she won the first five games to take the
opening frame and a 2-0 lead in the second en route to a 5-2 advantage. Grace
fought back and evened the set at 5-all before Janowicz dug deep and broke for
a 6-5 lead and held at love to secure the Gator’s spot in the semifinals.
On
the doubles court, Cercone and Janowicz tallied an 8-4 win before Lauren
Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.) polished
off the initial team point with an 8-2 decision and post their 17th consecutive
victory, a run tied for the sixth longest in UF history.
All
other matches were halted once the dual match and doubles point outcomes had
been decided.
Florida
has won 14 consecutive matches entering Saturday’s semifinal match, as well as
42 straight against SEC teams.
Florida,
which boasts a 64-7 all-time record in SEC Tournament action, has advanced to
the finals of the SEC Tournament in 22 of the 24 years the event has been
played, capturing 16 titles.
