Gators Part of an Upset-Filled Opening Day at NCAA Singles Championships

Wednesday, May 24

Athens, GA

All Day

Florida Gators

NCAA Singles Championships (Rd of 64)

Anna Danilina upset the No. 2 seed and won her 14th consecutive match.

Gators Part of an Upset-Filled Opening Day at NCAA Singles Championships

Wednesday, May 24, 2017 | Women's Tennis

NCAA Doubles Draw NCAA Singles Draw Complete Agate

Anna Danilina, Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock each won their respective opening round matches.

By: Kathy Cafazzo

ATHENS, Ga. – Five members of the 2017 national championship team returned to the courts less than 24 hours after their thrilling NCAA title match to compete in the NCAA Singles Championships held at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Anna Danilina, Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock each won their respective opening round matches and advance to the round of 32 to be played Thursday.

Kourtney Keegan and Ingrid Neel dropped their first-round singles matches, however, they will return to the courts on Thursday for the opening round of the NCAA Doubles Championships.

The top-two seeds in the 64-players were knocked out in the first round, with Danilina disposing of No. 2 Hayley Carter from North Carolina, 6-2, 6-3.

Kuhlman was in line to face Ohio State's top-ranked Francesca Di Lorenzo in the second round, but the Buckeye was bounced by Pepperdine's 37th-ranked Mayar Sherif Ahmed.

Anna Danillina

Produced a stunning 6-2, 6-3 victory against the tournament's No. 2 seed Hayley Carter from North Carolina.
The win extended Danilina's singles win streak to 14.
The Gator junior is now 35-9 overall this season and 65-16 in her career.
Danilina plays Texas Tech's No. 58 Felicity Maltby on Thursday at 1 p.m.
Danilina the teams with Neel in the first round of the NCAA Doubles Championships against Georgia Tech's No. 29-ranked Paige Hourigan and Kenya Jones at 6 p.m.

Danilina on today's match…
"It was a really tough match and Hayley is a really great player. Even the score looks kind of easy, but it was really tough. Every single ball I had to fight. She never gave me easy balls or easy points. It was just overall a really great match."

Josie Kuhlman

The Gator junior was impressive in her 6-1, 6-0 victory over Texas' No. 41-ranked Bianca Turati.
Kuhlman had lost her last two singles matches entering the individual event, but refocused for the straight-set victory.
Kuhlman improved to 31-9 overall this season and is 92-29 in her career.
Kuhlman is competing in the NCAA Singles Championships for the second time in her career. She reached the semifinals in 2015.
Kuhlman will play Pepperdine's 37th-ranked Mayar Sherif Ahmed on Thursday at 12 p.m.

Belinda Woolcock

The event's No. 6 seed had little trouble with FIU's Andrea Lazaro, capturing the 6-3, 6-2 first round win.
The Gator senior, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Team Championships, next plays Stanford's No. 28-ranked Melissa Lord on Thursday at 1 p.m.
This is the third consecutive year Woolcock has earned a berth in the singles tournament. Last year she reached the round of 16.
Woolcock now sports a 25-10 singles record this year and a 109-38 career mark.

Kourtney Keegan

The Gator senior drew a tough opener in Oklahoma State's eighth-ranked Viktoriya Lushkova and the Cowgirl seemed understandably fresher in her 6-1, 6-3 decision.
Keegan concludes her collegiate singles career with a 97-37 overall record, including a 21-7 mark this season.
In Tuesday's NCAA Team Final, Keegan posted a 6-0, 6-0 victory that gave the Gators a 2-0 lead en route to winning the national championship.
Keegan returns to action on Thursday when she pairs with Brooke Austin in the first round of the NCAA Doubles Championships. She and Austin are the reigning doubles champions.

Ingrid Neel

The Gator freshman returned to the court less than 24 hours after clinching Florida's NCAA team title and her magical rookie campaign on the singles court came to a close with a 6-2, 6-4 loss to No. 19 Ashley Lahey of Pepperdine.
Neel caps her inaugural singles season with a 21-9 overall record.
She returns to action in the NCAA Doubles Championships with Anna Danilina on Thursday at 6 p.m.

NCAA Singles Championships – Round of 64
Dan Magill Tennis Complex * Athens, Ga.
Wednesday, May 24, 2017

UF Results Only

#6 Belinda Woolcock (Florida) def. Andrea Lazaro (FIU), 6-3, 6-2
#44 Anna Danilina (Florida) def. #2 Hayley Carter (UNC), 6-2, 6-3
#23 Josie Kuhlman (Florida) def. #41 Bianca Turati (Texas), 6-1, 6-0
#8 Viktoriya Lushkova (Oklahoma State) def. #59 Kourtney Keegan (Florida), 6-1, 6-3
#19 Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine) def. #31 Ingrid Neel (Florida), 6-2, 6-4

Gators in Action on Thursday, May 25
NCAA Singles Championships (Second Round) – Round of 32

#6 Belinda Woolcock (Florida) vs. #28 Melissa Lord (Stanford) – 1 p.m.
#44 Anna Danilina (Florida) vs. #58 Felicity Maltby (Texas Tech) – 1 p.m.
#23 Josie Kuhlman (Florida) vs. #37 Mayar Sherif Ahmed (Pepperdine) – 12 p.m.

NCAA Doubles Championships (First Round) – Round of 32

#11 Anna Danilina/Ingrid Neel (Florida) vs. #29 Paige Hourigan/Kenya Jones (Georgia Tech) – 6 p.m.
#20 Brooke Austin/Kourtney Keegan (Florida) vs. #9 Kate Fahey/Alex Najarian (Michigan) – 5:30 p.m.
Josie Kuhlman & Belinda Woolcock are the No. 6 alternate team and must wait to see if they will be in the draw.

Gator Pronunciations
Anna Danilina: ON-nah don-uh-LEE-nah
Josie Kuhlman: COOL-mun

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