Florida
lost the doubles point but put on an impressive showing on the singles courts
and marched into the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Championship
after a 4-1 win against No. 18 Vanderbilt on a fridge and windy Friday evening
at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
With
matches several hours behind schedule due to the competitive play of the three
earlier contests, the Gators (20-2) didn’t finish their match until just after
midnight (Eastern time zone) and the temperature dipping into the upper 30s.
The
team from the Sunshine State didn’t let the cold weather effect their play on
the singles courts, where the Gators received straight-set wins from Olivia
Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.), Alexandra Cercone (Seminole, Fla.), Lauren
Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and Caroline Hitimana (Waterloo,
Belgium) and Florida improved to 26-0 all-time in SEC quarterfinal round
matches.
The
Commodore’s Ashleigh Antal and Marie Casares opened with an 8-3 win on court
two against Alexandra Cercone (Seminole, Fla.) and Caroline Hitimana
(Waterloo, Belgium) in 44 minutes, before Danielle Collins (St.
Petersburg, Fla.) and Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.) came back five
minutes later with an 8-2 victory over Frances Altick and Georgina Sellyn at
the number three position.
The
doubles point came down to court one, where Lauren Embree (Marco Island,
Fla.) and Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium) found themselves down 3-1
early to No. 10 Courtney Colton and Lauren Mira. The Gator pair was able to get
the break in the 10th game and Embree held to get the match back on serve at
6-5. The Vandy pair, however, held and broke for a 7-6 lead. The Commodores won
the first three points and the Gators were able to fight off two match points
but not a third, as Vanderbilt captured the doubles point and the 1-0 lead in
the team scoring 65 minutes into the match.
“We
got outplayed at doubles, Vanderbilt played really good doubles,” UF head coach
Roland Thornqvist said. “We had our chances at one, but I felt like the
Vanderbilt players were a little more aggressive at the end and that made a
difference.”
It
was the eighth time this season Florida had dropped the doubles point.
“Just
like we’ve been doing all year, we regrouped really quickly and played
excellent tennis from start to finish in singles,” Thornqvist said. “Olivia was
again the first one off the court and Alex was right behind her. I was happy to
see Caroline racked up a win because she was hitting match point last Sunday
against Vanderbilt when we abandoned the match. Overall, I was pleased.”
Janowicz
collected her second individual win of the day and was the first Gator off the
singles court when she posted a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Antal on court five,
as the Gator junior won her team-leading 31st singles victory. Janowicz won the
first two games of the match and Antal earned a break in the third game, but
the Janowicz quickly regrouped and won four straight games to take the first
set. The second set was nearly identical to the first and Janowicz won her 10th
consecutive match and evened the team scoring at 1-all.
Cercone
was the next off the court, as she earned a 6-3, 6-2 win against Georgina
Sellyn on court three and gave Florida a 2-1 lead. Cercone jumped out to a 4-0
lead in the first set en route to the opening frame win. The two competitors
traded breaks early and Cercone earned her second break of the frame in the
sixth game and held for a 5-2 lead as she broke one more time to earn her 10th
straight victory, as well as the 90th of her career.
Embree
gave Florida a 3-1 lead in the team scoring as she topped Lauren Mira, 6-2,
6-2, on court one. The Gator All-American earned breaks in the fourth and
eighth games to take the first set and then jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the
second. There were three straight breaks early in the second and Embree came
out ahead, as she held for a 4-2 lead en route to her 17th straight singles
victory which also was her 35th consecutive win in dual match singles action.
Embree’s
fellow senior, Hitimana polished off the dual match victory with her 6-4, 6-3
win against Altick on court six, where jumped out to a 3-0 lead to start the
match and held a 4-1 advantage. Altick came back with a late break and was
serving to try and get the set back on serve, but Hitimana came up with the
break and took the frame. She again won the first three games of the second
before Altick earn breaks in the fifth and seven games. Hitimana broke right
back for a 5-3 lead and served out for the clinching win. The victory marked
the Gator senior’s 33rd consecutive singles win in dual match pay, as well as
her ninth straight victory overall.
Florida
plays fourth-ranked and second-seeded Texas A&M in the semifinals on Saturday
at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT. The Aggies (21-2) handed the Gators their only SEC
setback and one of their two regular season losses, winning the doubles point
before taking three singles matches for the 4-3 decision in College Station on
March 3.
“It’s
going to be a fun match,” said Thornqvist of the rematch against Texas A&M.
“They have a really good team and they have a new player in the lineup that did
not play against us in the regular season. I’m pretty sure I’m not going to
have to motivate anybody to play tomorrow.”
