Gators Drop Thriller to Vanderbilt in SEC Final

Sunday, April 23

Nashville, TN

1 p.m. ET

Florida Gators

Vanderbilt - SEC Final

Anna Danilina won her singles and doubles matches on Sunday.

Gators Drop Thriller to Vanderbilt in SEC Final

Sunday, April 23, 2017 | Women's Tennis

Final Scores (PDF)

This was the sixth time in the 30-year history of the SEC Tournament that the final match went the distance

By: Kathy Cafazzo

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – When the Gators have won the doubles point this season it has led to a team victory. All 22 times. But not on Sunday with a title on the line in the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship match.

Florida easily captured the doubles point against Vanderbilt with impressive wins on courts one and two, where No. 17 Anna Danilina and Ingrid Neel upset Vanderbilt's third-ranked pair of Emily Smith and Astra Sharma, 6-3, just before Kourtney Keegan and Brooke Austin topped Emma Kurtz and Sydney Campbell, 6-2.

Top-seeded and second-ranked Vanderbilt, however, used its home court advantage and flipped the switch in singles action where they captured four victories and claimed the 4-3 win at the indoor Currey Tennis Center on the campus of Vanderbilt University Sunday afternoon.

Despite the adversity of not having their complete lineup with junior Josie Kuhlman unavailable due to being up all night and time in a local hospital with a stomach illness, the Gators still had their chances in singles.

After Florida took the quick 1-0 lead in the team score after winning the doubles point, Vanderbilt evened the team score with a straight-setter on court one.

Keegan swung the lead back in Florida's favor with an efficient 6-3, 6-2 win on court five. Keegan won all three doubles matches at the SEC Tournament, as well as today's singles match posting a combined 4-0 record and earned a spot on the all-tournament team.

Vanderbilt came back and evened the team score again with a three-setter on court two, where freshman Ingrid Neel dropped her match.

Anna Danilina gutted out a three-setter, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, and Florida held a 3-2 lead. Danilina won two singles matches during the event, as well as a pair of doubles matches and also earned a spot on the all-tournament team.

With the team score at 3-2, Florida needed just one more singles win but unfortunately, the hometown Commodores crowd maxed out the indoor facility with fans and made their presence felt as they helped Vanderbilt collect the final two wins.

Missed Opportunities

Austin was receiving down 3-1 in the third and had double-break point, but couldn't get the final point she needed to inch closer, as Christina Rosca managed to hold and take a 5-1 lead. Austin broke right back en route to winning the next three games and was serving down 5-4 but couldn't hold as Rosca won the three-setter, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 and tied the team scoring at 3-all.
Neel fought back after dropping her first set and won the second by breaking serve. In the third, she was serving up 3-1, but 11th-ranked Sydney Campbell broke and held to even the set at 3-all. Both competitors held in the next two games, before Campbell managed the big break in the ninth game for a 5-4 lead and served out for the 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 win.
After losing the first nine games of the match, Liang battled back to win five straight and was serving for the second set up 5-3. Fernanda Contreras halted Liang's run with a break, as she won four straight games to seal the Commodore win.

Gator Down = Lineup Shuffle

The Gators took the court for the final knowing that they would not be at full strength, as junior Josie Kuhlman was unavailable due to a stomach virus.
Kuhlman played the No. 2 singles position and has won a team-best 29 overall singles matches, including a 14-3 record in singles dual matches.
Her absence meant the entire Gator singles lineup shifted up one position and Spencer Liang entered the match at the number six spot.
In doubles, Kuhlman played the entire season with Belinda Woolcock, mostly on court three. Peggy Porter, who had never played with Woolcock and had not played a doubles dual match all season was inserted into the lineup.

SEC Tournament Final Coverage

TV Coverage: While there was not live television coverage of the SEC Final, a one-hour SEC Women's Tennis Championship special will air on Sunday, April 30th from 12pm-1pm ET on SEC Network. Sam Gore and Gator Great Jill Craybas will provide commentary.

UF vs. Vanderbilt: The UPDATED Series

55-Match Series: UF leads 48-7 (UF at home: 21-0; away: 14-5; neutral: 13-2)
Last Meeting: Vandy won 4-2 in Nashville on April 16 in the regular-season finale for both teams
Of Note: Despite Florida's large lead in the series history, Vanderbilt has won five of the last six meetings between the two teams.

Gators at the SEC Tournament

All-Time Record: 75-9
Championships: 20 (most recent in 2016)
Runner-Up Finishes: 5
Semifinalists: 3
Florida improved to 29-1 all-time in SEC Tournament quarterfinal matches
The Gators improved to 26-3 all-time in SEC Tournament semifinal matches
Florida has advanced to the SEC Tournament final 26 times in the 30-year history of the event

Gators involved No. 1 vs. No. 2 Match-ups

Sunday's match was the 27th time in program history and third time this year that Florida was involved in a match featuring the nation's top two ranked teams.
The Gators dropped to 2-1 this year in those match-ups, and 15-12 all-time.

Gators at the SEC Tournament

All-Time Record: 75-10
Championships: 20 (most recent in 2016)
Runner-Up Finishes: 6
The Gators are 20-6 all-time in SEC Tournament final matches
Florida has advanced to the SEC Tournament final 26 times in the 30-year history of the event

Tight SEC Tournament Finals

This was the sixth time in the 30-year history of the SEC Tournament that the final match went the distance, meaning all six singles matches and the doubles point were counted in the final team total
The Gators have been involved in five of those six matches, the last time in 2008 when UF lost to Georgia, 4-3.
The last time an SEC final went the distance was in 2015, when Vanderbilt defeated Georgia, 4-3

Gators at a Glance

The Gators have won the doubles point in 23 of 26 matches.
UF fell to 22-1 when winning the doubles point this year and 1-2 when losing it.
Anna Danilina won her seventh straight singles match
The doubles team of Austin and Keegan won their sixth straight
Florida entered the SEC Tournament off a 4-2 loss to Vanderbilt on April 16, when it had its eight-match win streak halted.
Two of the Gator's three losses have been against Vanderbilt

Quotes from the Court – UF Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
"I thought we once again, payed fantastic doubles. That's been the highlight all weekend. We have become a much more aggressive team in doubles. It paid off all three days – we won all three doubles points against incredible doubles teams.

"I thought we played well in singles today, too. Vanderbilt, you have to give them credit. They have great ball tolerance and in a couple of matches that really made a difference.

"I was really pleased with our effort, our attitude and the way that we are fighting. I really feel good after this weekend. We have great talent, great fighters on this team. Although we fell short today against a really good Vanderbilt team, I'm really proud of our effort.

"It's been a long year and we have a stretch here of three weeks when we are going to do everything we can to use those three weeks and maximize every minute of those."

Links of Note: SEC Tournament

Southeastern Conference Women's Tennis Championship - Final
No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 1 Florida
Currey Tennis Center * Nashville, Tenn.
Sunday, April 23, 2017

Final Score: Vanderbilt 4, Florida 3

Doubles (Order of finish: 1, 2*)
1. #17 Anna Danilina/Ingrid Neel, UF d. #3 Emily Smith/Astra Sharma, VU 6-3
2. #20 Kourtney Keegan/Brooke Austin, UF d. Emma Kurtz/Sydney Campbell, VU 6-2*
3. Peggy Porter/Belinda Woolcock, UF vs. #72 Fernanda Contreras/Christina Rosca, VU 4-4 DNF

Singles (Order of finish: 1, 5, 2, 4, 3, 6*)
1. #4 Astra Sharma, VU d. #6 Belinda Woolcock, UF 6-4, 6-1
2. #11 Sydney Campbell, VU d. #29 Ingrid Neel, UF 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
3. #96 Christina Rosca, VU d. Brooke Austin, UF 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
4. #37 Anna Danilina, UF d. Emma Kurtz, VU 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
5. #44 Kourtney Keegan, UF d. Georgina Sellyn, VU 6-3, 6-2
6. #69 Fernanda Contreras, VU d. #75 Spencer Liang, UF 6-0, 7-5*
Records: Florida 23-3; Vanderbilt 20-5

2017 SEC Tournament Schedule (times listed are EASTERN)
Currey Tennis Center * Nashville, Tenn.
Wed., April 19 – First Round
Match 1: #11 Tennessee d. #14 Alabama – 4-0
Match 2: #12 Ole Miss d. #13 Missouri – 4-2
Thur., April 20 – Second Round
Match 3: #6 Mississippi State d. #11 Tennessee – 4-1
Match 4: #10 Auburn d. #7 Arkansas – 4-3
Match 5: #8 LSU d. #9 Texas A&M – 4-3
Match 6: #5 Kentucky d. #12 Ole Miss– 4-3
Fri., April 21 - Quarterfinals
Match 7: #3 Florida d. #6 Mississippi State – 4-2
Match 8: #10 Auburn d. #2 Georgia – 4-1
Match 9: #1 Vanderbilt d. #8 LSU – 4-2
Match 10: #4 South Carolina d. #5 Kentucky – 4-3
Sat., April 22 - Semifinals
Match 11: #3 Florida d. #10 Auburn – 4-2
Match 12: #1 Vanderbilt d. #4 South Carolina – 4-1
Sun., April 23 - Finals
Match 13: #1 Vanderbilt d. #3 Florida – 4-3

How Tough is it? SEC Women's Tennis is so tough …

The No. 1-ranked team in the country (Florida) is the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament
The No. 10-seeded team (Auburn) is ranked No. 12 in the country.
The No. 23-ranked team in the country (Tennessee) is the No. 11 seed and had to play on the opening day of the five-day tournament.
Eleven of the 14 SEC schools are ranked among the top 25 teams in the country, including three of the top four teams.

What's Next for the Gators

The NCAA Selection Show revealing the 64-team field is scheduled for May 2.
The official announcement will be held online through NCAA.com
The top 16 teams that are available to host first and second round matches also will be announced at that time.
Women's first and second round matches will be played May 13 and 14. The winner of each of those 16 second-round matches advances to Athens, Georgia, for the rest of the NCAA Championships.