Gators Down Dawgs to Reach ITA Indoors Final

Sunday, February 12

New Haven, CT

3:30 pm ET

Florida Gators

Georgia

Kourtney Keegan earned wins on the singles and doubles courts Sunday.

Gators Down Dawgs to Reach ITA Indoors Final

Sunday, February 12, 2017 | Women's Tennis

Draw

Florida earned a date in the final against second-ranked and No. 2-seeded North Carolina.

By: Kathy Cafazzo

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Gators blanked sixth-ranked and fifth-seeded Georgia, 4-0, and advanced to the final of the 2017 ITA National Team Indoor Championships hosted by Yale University on Sunday.

With the win, Florida earned a date in the final against second-ranked and No. 2-seeded North Carolina on Monday at 11 a.m. ET. The Tar Heels won a 4-3 thriller against sixth-seeded Ohio State in their semifinal match.

The Gators and Tar Heels have met once prior at the National Team Indoors and UNC handed Florida a 4-0 shutout in the 2015 semifinals.

On Sunday, Florida won the doubles point for the second straight day and before getting quick, straight-set singles wins from Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan that gave the Gators a 3-0 lead in the team scoring.

The four remaining singles matches were battles, with Florida winning the first set on courts one and two, the latter in a tough tiebreak, while the Dawgs claimed the opening set on the other spots.

While courts three and four were split sets, senior Belinda Woolcock polished off Ellen Perez, 6-3, 7-6 (6), to provide the clinching dual match victory.

Postmatch with UF Head Coach Roland Thornqvist:
"We played really well today. I've been happy to see that we've been playing better every day here. We're a little more comfortable in a competitive environment and a little more comfortable playing indoors. Today, was by far the best we've played since we arrived."

"We handled the pace of play better. There were so many positives from today. Doubles, we played aggressively again. Brooke (Austin) and Kourtney (Keegan) were off the court quick in singles and that really helped. On courts three and four, we lost the first set on both and I told Anna (Danilina) and Josie (Kuhlman) after the match that one of the reasons that we were able to win in straight sets on court one was that they were able to turn their matches into a third set and that took a lot of pressure off of Belinda (Woolcock)."

"North Carolina is used to being here in the final. They've won it before so we're going to have our hands full tomorrow. It's important for us to play at the same high level that we did today in order for us to have a chance."

Path to the Final

Florida: First Round def. Michigan, 4-1; Quarterfinals def. Texas Tech, 4-1; Semifinals def. (5) Georgia 4-0
North Carolina: First Round def. Yale, 4-0; QF d. (7) California, 4-2; SF d. (6) Ohio State, 4-3

Florida's History at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships

All-time record: 51-13
The Gators are 6-5 all-time in NTIC Final matches
Florida improved to 12-2 all-time in NTIC Semifinal matches
This is Florida's 17th all-time appearance in the national event, but just its second in the last six years.
The Gators have won the championship six times, with the last title coming in 1998-99. Since that year, Florida has competed in the event just five times.
The last time the Gators were at the NTIC was in 2014-15 and the squad reached the semifinals.

Following the Action

For updated draws, results, live scoring and video, daily video highlights and photo galleries, head to the Division I Women's National Indoors event page.
On social media, be sure to follow @ITA_Tennis on Twitter and Instagram and use the hashtag #ITAIndoors to join the conversation.
FloTennis will be on site providing live streaming coverage of all four days of competition. FloTennis is a subscription-based service with monthly and annual rate options. To sign up and view the live stream, click here.

Quick Overview

The ITA Division I National Women's Team Indoor Championship is in its 30th year of existence.
Fifteen teams qualified for the event by winning their respective 2017 ITA Kick-Off Weekend four-team regional, while Yale received an automatic bid as the host site.
The teams will compete in a single-elimination tournament over a four-day span to crown a national indoor champion.
Each team is guaranteed three matches at the event.

Florida's Six ITA NTIC Titles Years

1987-88
1990-91
1991-92
1995-96
1996-97
1998-99

UF's Five Runner-Up Finishes Years

1988-89
1992-93
1993-94
2002-03
2010-11

2017 ITA National Team Indoor Championships – Semifinals
Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center * New Haven, CT
Sunday, February 12, 2017

No. 1 Florida vs. No. 6 Georgia

Final Score: Florida d. Georgia, 4-0

Singles
1. Belinda Woolcock (40), UF d. Ellen Perez, UG 6-3, 7-6 (6)*
2. Ingrid Neel (45), UF vs. Eleni Christofi, (18) UG – 7-6 (6), 3-2 DNF
3. Anna Danilina (23), UF vs. Kennedy Shaffer (39), UG – 1-6, 6-4, 3-3 DNF
4. Josie Kuhlman (19), UF Caroline Brinson (34) , UG – 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 DNF
5. Brooke Austin, UF d. Marta Gonzalez (76), UG 6-3, 6-3
6. Kourtney Keegan (30), UF d. Mariana Gould, UG 6-0, 6-4

Doubles
1. Brooke Austin/Kourtney Keegan (18), UF d. E. Christofi/E. Perez, UG 6-3*
2. Anna Danilina/Ingrid Neel (22), UF d. C. Brinson/K. Shaffer, UG 6-2
3. Belinda Woolcock/Josie Kuhlman (17), UF vs. M. Gonzalez/M. Gould, UG – 4-5 DNF

Order of Finish: D – 1, 2*; S – 6, 5, 1*
Team Ranking: Florida – 1; Georgia - 6
Updated Records: Florida 6-0; Georgia 5-1

Complete Team Results – Quarterfinals
(1) Florida d. (5) Georgia, 4-0
(2) North Carolina d. (6) Ohio State, 4-3

Gator Pronunciations