Belinda Woolcock to Play for NCAA Singles Championship

Sunday, May 28

Athens, GA

1:30 p.m.

Florida Gators

NCAA Singles Championships (Semifinals)

Belinda Woolcock will play for the NCAA Singles title on Monday

Belinda Woolcock to Play for NCAA Singles Championship

Sunday, May 28, 2017 | Women's Tennis

Woolcock is the first Gators since 2002 to reach the singles final

By: Kathy Cafazzo

ATHENS, Ga. – Gator senior Belinda Woolcock found a way to gut out a hard-fought three-set victory and earn a spot in the finals of the NCAA Singles Championships held at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex Sunday afternoon.

The Gator senior defeated Miami's 40th-ranked Estela Perez-Somarriba, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 in semifinals of the NCAA Singles Championships.

Woolcock will play Michigan's No. 24th-ranked Brienne Minor on Monday at 11 a.m. Minor also needed three sets in her semifinals match, downing Vanderbilt's Sydney Campbell, 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-0.

This will be the first ever meeting between Woolcock and Minor.

NCAA.com will provide live streaming video of the event, with Joe Gentry calling the action: http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/2017/05/29

Sunday's Semifinal at a Glance
It was easy early

To say that Woolcock was cruising to start her semifinals match against Perez-Somarriba would be an understatement.
The Gator senior won 42 of 53 points to take what seemed to be a commanding 6-1, 4-0 lead.
She even won 47 of 60 points for a 6-1, 5-1 lead.
Woolcock held one match point on Perez-Somarriba's serve at 5-1, however, the Hurricane came back to hold.

Not so fast…

One of the special things about tennis is that a match is never over until it really is over.
In the eighth game of the second set, Woolcock had two match points on her serve, but Perez-Somarriba fought both of those off, too.
Perez-Somarriba proceeded to win seven straight games to take that second set and force a deciding third, as she broke Woolcock in the final game, losing just one point.
In those final six games, Perez-Somarriba won 24 of 35 points.

A New Ballgame in the Third Set

Perez-Somarriba would seem to have all the momentum entering the third set after the way she closed the second.
Woolcock, however, earned a break for a 4-1 lead.
Perez-Somarriba broke right back, before Woolcock countered with a break and went to the baseline with a 5-2 lead and was serving for the match after the changeover.
Like the trend of the deciding set, though, Woolcock couldn't hold and it was Perez-Somarriba who needed to find her second set magic to keep the match alive.
Woolcock focused and on her fourth match-point opportunity – first of the ninth game – she capitalized and became the first Gator to advance to the NCAA Singles Final since Jessica Lehnhoff in 2002.

Postmatch quotes – Belinda Woolcock
On today's match...
"Yeah, I am super happy to finish the match strong. She is a tough opponent. She fought really well, and didn't give anything away at the end so I had to really stick to my game plan, and stay positive. She fought really well, so for me, I was really happy, even though I lost the chance to close out the match on the second set, I didn't dwell on the negative, and I just finished off super strong in the third."

On mindset of going into the final...
"I don't know her too well, but I focused on trying to keep the same mindset and play the way I have been playing all tournament. I am just going to go out there and keep on doing what I have been doing because it has been working.

On what went well for her...
"My aggressive game, playing my game style, playing my game and moving very well, and using my athleticism. Yeah, I think that is what I'm going to do tomorrow."

Belinda Woolcock at a Glance

Updated mini bio on Woolcock

Woolcock's Run at the 2017 NCAA Singles Championships

First round: def. #51 Andrea Lazaro (FIU), 6-3, 6-2
Second round def. #28 Melissa Lord (Stanford), 6-3, 6-4
Round of 16: def. #46 Joana Valle Costa (LSU), 6-3, 6-1
Quarterfinals: def. #44 Anna Danilina (Florida), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Semifinals: def. #40 Estela Perez-Somarriba (Miami), 6-1, 5-7, 6-3

Belinda Woolcock at a Glance

She is the first Gator to reach the NCAA Singles Final since 2002, when Jessica Lehnhoff faced Wake Forest's Bea Bielik and dropped a 6-2, 6-0 decision.
Woolcock is the No 6 seed at the NCAA Singles Championships
The Gator senior was named the Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Team Championships and earned a spot on the NCAA Championships All-Tournament Team for singles and doubles.
Woolcock now sports a 29-10 singles record this year and a 113-38 career mark.
Woolcock was first Gator to reach the NCAA Singles Semifinals since 2015 when Josie Kuhlman reached the 'final four' of the individual national event.
This is the third consecutive year Woolcock has earned a berth in the singles tournament. Last year she reached the round of 16 – then a career-best.

Gators in the NCAA Singles Championships

2015 was the last time a Gator reached the Semifinals of the NCAA Singles Championships (Josie Kuhlman)
UF Individual Singles Record in NCAA Finals: 4-5
Gators are 10-6 all-time in the semifinals of the NCAA Singles Championships
The last time a Gator reached the finals was back in 2002, when Jessica Lehnhoff faced Wake Forest's Bea Bielik and dropped a 6-2, 6-0 decision.
Jill Craybas was the last Gator to win the NCAA Singles Championships, doing so in 1996.

Florida's NCAA Singles Champions

Shaun Stafford
1988 NCAA Singles Champion
May 15-19, 1988 * Los Angeles, California
First Round         d. Jane Holdren (Trinity) 6-2, 6-3
Second Round    d. Jane Alexander (Georgia) 6-0, 6-0
Third Round        d. Teri Whitlinger (Stanford) 6-4, 6-1
Quarterfinals       d. Karen Shin (California) 6-4, 7-5
Semifinals           d. Ronni Reis (Miami) 6-1, 7-6
Final                     d. Halle Cioffi (Florida) 7-6, 6-4

Lisa Raymond
1992 NCAA Singles Champion
May 17-21, 1992 * Palo Alto, California
First Round         d. Laura Richards (San Diego) 6-2, 6-0
Second Round    d. Susan Sommerville (Duke) 6-4, 6-4
Third Round        d. Deborah Edelman (Indiana) 6-3, 6-1
Quarterfinals       d. Heather Willens (Stanford) 7-5, 6-1
Semifinals           d. Paloma Collantes (Mississippi) 6-4, 6-2
Final                     d. Shannan McCarthy (Georgia) 6-3, 6-3

Lisa Raymond
1993 NCAA Singles Champion
May 16-20, 1993 * Gainesville, Florida
First Round         d. Kristine Kurth (Stanford) 6-3, 6-1
Second Round    d. Suzi Italiano (Southern Cal) 7-6 (9-7), 6-0
Third Round        d. Jackie Moe (Texas) 6-3, 6-1
Quarterfinals       d. Pam Nelson (California) 6-1, 6-3
Semifinals           d. Kelly Pace (Texas) 6-1, 6-0
Final                     d. Cindy Gurney (North Carolina) 6-3, 6-1

Jill Craybas
1996 NCAA Singles Champion
May 22-26, 1996 * Tallahassee, Florida
First Round         d. Patty Murren (Wake Forest) 6-0, 6-0
Second Round    d. Gulberk Gultekin (UAB) 6-2, 6-2
Third Round        d. Jennifer Hall (Notre Dame) 6-1, 6-1
Quarterfinals       d. Vanessa Webb (Duke) 6-4, 7-6 (3)
Semifinals           d. Ania Bleszynski (Stanford) 6-2, 6-3
Championship     d. Kylie Hunt (Kansas) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3

Florida's NCAA Singles Finalists
1987                    Shaun Stafford
1988                    Halle Cioffi
1990                    Nicole Arendt
1997                    M.C. White
2002                    Jessica Lehnhoff

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