Gators Blank LSU in SEC Home Opener

Friday, March 9

Gainesville, FL

5 PM

Florida Gators

LSU

Peggy Porter captured wins on the singles and doubles courts.

Gators Blank LSU in SEC Home Opener

Friday, March 9, 2018 | Women's Tennis

Box Score Final Scores (PDF)

Florida posted a 4-0 win and improved to 3-0 in the SEC.

By: Kathy Cafazzo

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators looked like a team that hadn't played a home match in 40 days and wanted to impress its fans by the way it took down LSU, 4-0, at Linder Stadium at the Ring Tennis Complex Friday night.

Florida won its fifth consecutive dual match and improved to 3-0 in Southeastern Conference play thanks to winning the doubles point against the Tigers before earning straight-set singles victories by freshman Katie Kubicz and seniors Peggy Porter and Josie Kuhlman.

All the Singles Ladies

Florida won the first set on five of the six singles courts and road that to a trio of straight-set wins and the dual match victory.
Court 1: play was abandoned once the dual match was clinched, with Anna Danilina serving, up 6-4, 5-2.
Court 2: Senior Josie Kuhlman clinched the dual match win with her 6-3, 6-4 victory, her team-leading fifth consecutive singles win. Kuhlman earned a break in the sixth game of the opening set and road that through the first set. In the second, Kuhlman came out on top of consecutive breaks as she held for a 5-3 lead and later served out for the win.
Court 3: play was abandoned once the dual match was clinched; freshman Victoria Emma found herself in an early 2-0 hold to begin the match, but earned a break in the third game to avoid a bigger deficit. She was able to turn the table with a break in the fifth game, held and then broke again before carrying that momentum to take the first set, 6-3. She dropped the second and was down 1-0 in the third when play halted.
Court 4: play was abandoned once the dual match was clinched; freshman McCartney Kessler dropped a hard-fought first set 7-5, but regrouped in the second and was serving up 5-4 when play halted.
Court 5: Senior Peggy Porter gave UF a 3-0 lead in the dual match with a 6-3, 6-2 win. Porter was receiving down 3-1 in the first before ripping off five straight games to win the opening frame. She won the first two games of the second en route to a 5-1 lead, later breaking to win the match.
Court 6: Freshman Katie Kubicz was the first to provide a singles decision, posting a 6-3, 6-0 win that gave Florida a 2-0 lead. Kubicz was receiving up 3-2 in the first when she turned on the jets to win nine of the next 10 games to take the decisive victory.

Doubles the Fun

The Gators won the doubles point for the seventh time this season (6-1 record when winning the doubles point) with individual victories on courts two and three.
Court 1: LSU won 6-3 and was the first match to finish. The match was on-serve until the eighth game, where the Tigers got the lone break of the entire match and held for victory.
Court 2: This became the deciding double-point match and the Gators won 6-3 in 34 minutes. There were three late breaks in the match, with the Gators coming out on top and Josie Kuhlman serving out for the win.
Court 3: The match was on-serve through the first four games until the Gators broke and wouldn't drop another game en route to the 6-2 victory in 30 minutes.

Florida vs. LSU: The UPDATED Series

46-Match Series: UF leads the all-time series, 45-1
Location, Location: UF in Gainesville: 21-0; in Baton Rouge: 18-1; Neutral Site: 6-0
Streak: Florida extended its winning streak against LSU to 10 following Friday's victory. The Gator's lone loss was a 4-3 decision on April 3, 2009, in Baton Rouge.
Last Meeting: The Gators defeated the Tigers 7-0 in Baton Rouge on March 3, 2017

A Glance at the Gators (8-4, 3-0 SEC)

Individual Rankings: Singles – No. 15 Anna Danilina, No. 45 Josie Kuhlman, No. 100 Victoria Emma; Doubles –No. 15 Anna Danilina & Victoria Emma
Remember us?: This weekend's matches will be Florida's first at home in 40 days, having played its last nine matches against from Gainesville. The Gator's last home appearance was a 4-0 victory against Louisiana at Monroe on Sun., January 28.
Of Note: Florida brings a five-match win streak into Sunday's action versus Texas A&M.

A Glance at No. 36 LSU (10-3, 1-2 SEC)

Individual Rankings: Singles – No. 67 Jessica Golovin; Doubles –No. 50 Jessica Golovin & Eden Richardson
On the road: Friday's match at Florida was LSU's first road match of the season. The Tigers have played two neutral site matches and went 1-1.
Of Note: LSU is coached by Julia Sell – or as Gator fans would remember her –Julia Scaringe, who was the lone senior on Florida's 2003 NCAA Championships Team.

Quotes from the Court (check out the videos for the complete interviews):

UF Coach Roland Thornqvist – https://youtu.be/v1bJpjHIzVw

On what he liked about today's win:
"I think there were a lot of positives. One was the play of our number three doubles team. We had to figure a couple things out. We had been playing well there so I was happy to see that we could get a 'W' – they certainly deserved it. They've done a good job in practice, too.

"Overall, I think our play in singles was really, really good. We are moving well. The terrible Tuesdays we have in practice have helped out lateral movement in particular outdoors. I just like the player development I see now out of our players. We're getting the most out of them right now and I'm really happy for them because they've put in a lot of work."

Senior Peggy Porter – https://youtu.be/0qOFNUN-Sg8

Freshman Katie Kubicz – https://youtu.be/T9akaUFLf38

What's Next for the Gators

Who: No. 35 Texas A&M (10-3, 1-2 SEC) – lost 4-0 at No. 11 South Carolina on Friday evening
When: Sunday at 1 p.m.
Where: Linder Stadium at the Ring Tennis Complex * Gainesville, FL
Live Video & Scoring: http://floridagators.com/sports/2018/3/9/tennis-women-live-video-stats.aspx

The 4-1-1 About Home Matches

Tickets: FREE for all regular-season matches
Parking: FREE and plentiful in the UF Law School parking lot located next to the Ring Tennis Complex
Promotions: none for Sunday's match
Live Video & Scoring: http://floridagators.com/sports/2018/3/9/tennis-women-live-video-stats.aspx
Inclimate Weather: In the event rain becomes an issue, play will move to the Charles R. and Nancy V. Perry Indoor Facility, located within the Ring Tennis Complex. Viewing inside the three-court facility is extremely limited and is first-come, first-serve. There will not be live video should play move indoors.

Match 12
No. 36 LSU at No. 22 Florida
Linder Stadium at the Ring Tennis Complex * Gainesville, FL
Friday, March 09, 2018

Final: Florida def. LSU, 4-0

Singles (order of finish: 6, 5, 2*)
1. #15 Anna Danilina (UF) vs. Ryann Foster (LSU) 6-4, 5-2, unfinished
2. #45 Josie Kuhlman (UF) def. #67 Jessica Golovin (LSU) 6-3, 6-4*
3. #100 Victoria Emma (UF) vs. Eden Richardson (LSU) 6-3, 2-6, 0-1, unfinished
4. McCartney Kessler (UF) vs. Kennan Johnson (LSU) 5-7, 5-4, unfinished
5. Peggy Porter (UF) def. Luba Vasilyuk (LSU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Katie Kubicz (UF) def. Ashton Rabalais (LSU) 6-3, 6-0

Doubles (order of finish: 1, 3, 2*)
1. #50 Jessica Golovin/Eden Richardson (LSU) def. #15 Anna Danilina/Victoria Emma (UF) 6-3
2. Josie Kuhlman/McCartney Kessler (UF) def. Ryann Foster/Luba Vasilyuk (LSU) 6-3*
3. Katie Kubicz/Peggy Porter (UF) def. Kennan Johnson/Ashton Rabalais (LSU) 6-2

Match Notes:

LSU 10-3, 1-2 SEC; National ranking #36
Florida 8-4, 3-0 SEC; National ranking #22
The win was Florida's 10^th consecutive over LSU, as the Gators improved to 45-1 all-time against the Tigers.

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