With
the rain and wind that moved into the Gainesville area early Sunday morning,
the second-ranked Gator women’s tennis team had to make some adjustments in
their match against 18th-ranked Auburn and play all matches inside
the Perry Indoor Tennis Facility. Even with the change in scenery and only
singles matches being played, Florida was still able to claim a 4-0 victory
Sunday afternoon and move to 6-1 in conference play.
Only
three singles matches were able to be played at a time, but junior Olivia
Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.) got the Gators (13-3, 6-1 SEC) on the board early
with her fourth straight win, followed by another great outing from senior Lauren
Embree (Marco Island, Fla.), who remained perfect in the spring season.
Juniors
Alexandra Cercone (Seminole, Fla.) and Brianna Morgan (Beverly
Hills, Calif.) both claimed another win in conference play to finish the match
as Florida extended its impressive all-time home record against SEC opponents
to 183-1. Overall, it’s the 117th-straight win for UF on its home courts.
“This
was our first taste of playing an entire match indoors,” Florida head coach Roland
Thornqvist said. “Playing singles first is a little different but I thought
we handled it well. Auburn is really good. Some positions for Auburn have
shortcomings technically, but their players step up with attitude. They were
great last year and they’re even better this year. Our players handled it well
and we found a way to compete. We’ve gone through a gauntlet of top teams and
we’re going to take two days off this week for the first time all season. We
need to give our bodies a break and get some air in our heads. It’s not going
to affect our forehands and backhands. Mentally, we need a few days off. This
homestand has been exciting and we’ve been competing at a high level.”
When
the match was decided to be moved indoors to the Perry Indoor Tennis Facility
due to the inclement weather, it was agreed by both coaches that singles would
be played first and if need be, the doubles would be played after. First on the
courts was Embree at court one, Cercone at court three and Janowicz at court
five. Facing Auburn’s Plamena Kurteva, Janowicz was the first off the courts as
she cruised to a 6-2, 6-2, straight-set victory. Not only was it the junior’s fourth-straight
win, but it was also her fourth straight-set win in a row going back to the
Gators’ win against South Carolina.
“She
(Olivia) was fantastic,” Thornqvist said. “The first 30 minutes, her backhand
and forehand were both outstanding and she played balls deep in both corners.
Olivia had to go to Plan B in the second set and I was impressed to see how
she’s developed and her ability to have Plan A, B and C ready to go really
helps. When she gets the lead and gets us on the board early, that helps us. I
was pleased.”
In
the only match with two ranked players, Embree, in only her second match as the
nation’s top-ranked player, faced off against Pleun Bergmans, who is No. 51 in
the most recent ITA rankings. Embree found herself down early, 2-1, after three
played games in the first set, but re-gained the lead after two wins in a row
to go up 3-2, a lead she never relinquished. Embree went on to win the first
frame, 6-4, followed by a 6-3, second set victory to claim her 31st dual match
win in a row.
After
Janowicz and Embree’s win, Cercone wasn’t having as much luck against Jen
Pfeifler on court three. Cercone won the first set, 6-1, but then fell behind
early in the second set and couldn’t recover as Pfeifler forced the match to a
third frame with a 6-3, second set victory. Fortunately, for the Gators,
Cercone settled back down and cruised to a 6-2 third set win, giving Florida
the comfortable 3-0 lead in the team points. It’s Cercone’s sixth three-set win
this year and second in a row as she is now 18-7 total on the year and 9-1 in
dual play.
With
UF leading the team score 3-0, it seemed like it wouldn’t take much longer for
the team to get its fourth point and claim its 13th win of the year. However,
Auburn hung tough at the Nos, 2, 4 and 6 positions. Courts two and six were
forced to a third set, even after Florida claimed first set victories on all
six courts.
Once
again, for the second-straight match, Morgan stepped up to the plate and was
able to close things out for the Gators. After an easy, 6-2, first set win,
Morgan had a 5-4 second set lead and was serving for the match. But her
counterpart, Jackie Kasler extended the match after breaking Morgan’s serve to
make it 5-all. From there, the Beverly Hills native was all business and closed
it out once again to win the second set, 7-5. It’s Morgan’s 10th victory of the
dual season and 19th overall. Her 10 dual wins makes her only the third Gator
to reach double digits in that category this season.
“She’s
turning into a little closer,” Thornqvist said. “What was impressive there, to
me, was that Brianna was up 4-2 and Auburn found legs, got to more balls and
got the set to 4-all. Brianna had to really dig down and find a way to win.
That’s what I’ve been most impressed with, she can hit the ball like a pro and
now she can play like a pro. She’s been a great addition for the Gators.”
“I
think we feel good. We’re starting to get a handle on doubles and we’re going
to continue to try some new combinations. A couple of our players have been
getting better at court positioning. We feel really good. We played a
tremendous schedule up to this point, countless top-20 teams and I could tell
in training that it was starting to take its toll. We definitely need these
days off and maybe two more (days off) next week.”
