Vanderbilt Wins SEC Tournament 4-0 Over Florida

Sunday, April 22

Knoxville, TN

2:30 PM

Florida Gators

#2 Vanderbilt

Florida made its 27th appearance in the SEC Tournament final, but couldn't claim title No. 21 as Vanderbilt took a 4-0 victory.

Vanderbilt Wins SEC Tournament 4-0 Over Florida

Sunday, April 22, 2018 | Women's Tennis

Florida drops to 20-7 all-time in SEC Tournament finals.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the second time in an eight-day span, Florida and Vanderbilt women's tennis teams met with a trophy going to the winner. On Saturday of Florida's Orange & Blue Weekend, it was Vanderbilt edging Florida 4-3 to claim sole possession of the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship.

The two teams worked through the bracket at Tennessee's Barkdale Stadium to meet again today for the SEC Tournament title. The Commodores made it a sweep of the SEC Tennis titles with a 4-0 win today over Florida.

The match moved inside to the Goodfriend Tennis Center due to weather in the Knoxville area. The Commodores took the doubles point and then claimed three straight-set singles wins to clinch their second-consecutive SEC Tournament title.

Hear from Florida's Roland Thornqvist:
"They were better today and sometimes that just happens. There was no lack of effort on our end – really proud of our effort. Peggy Porter with her flat-out Boris Becker dive in No. 5 singles illustrates the desire this team has to get a W. You have to appreciate that as a coach.

"Phenomenal year so far as we've come close to two trophies. But I feel nothing but pride on what these Gators have achieved.

"We've got three weeks here [before NCAA Tournament play] so we can take care of some academics and then start working toward the NCAAs. A little break will be good. We can start from zero in our preparations. It comes at a good time for us." – Florida Head Coach Roland Thornqvist

Miscellaneous Match Notes

Florida is now 12-3 versus Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament Championship, with the 'Dores taking the last three wins.
Florida dropped the doubles point for the ninth time and fell to 3-6 when doing so.
Gators are 20-7 all-time in SEC Tournament finals
Vanderbilt extended its win streak to 11 matches.

What's Next for the Gators

The 64-team field for the 2018 NCAA Championships is unveiled Tuesday, May 1 at 5 p.m. ET on NCAA.com

Florida vs. Vanderbilt: The Updated Series

All-Time: UF leads the all-time series against Vanderbilt 49-9 (UF at home: 21-1; Away: 14-4; Neutral: 14-4).
Last Meeting: Vanderbilt won 4-3 in the SEC regular-season finale in Gainesville on April 14, 2018.
Streak: While the Gators hold a large lead in the 57-match series that began in 1980, Vanderbilt has won eight of the last 10 meetings.

Match 26
#3 Vanderbilt at #10 Florida
Goodfriend Tennis Center * Knoxville, Tenn.
Sunday, April 22, 2018

Final: #2 Vanderbilt 4, #9 Florida 0

Doubles (order of finish: 3, 1*)
1. #22 Fernanda Contreras /Astra Sharma (VU) def. #13 Anna Danilina/Victoria Emma (UF) 6-1*
2. McCartney Kessler/Josie Kuhlman (UF) 6-1 vs. #58 Emma Kurtz/Emily Smith (VU) DNF (UF 5-1)
3. Christina Rosca/Amanda Meyer (VU) def. Katie Kubicz/Peggy Porter (UF) 6-1

Singles (Order of finish: 4, 6, 2*)
1. #14 Anna Danilina (UF) vs #8 Astra Sharma (VU) DNF (UF 6-3, 4-3)
2. #7 Fernanda Contreras (VU) def. #47 Josie Kuhlman (UF) 6-2, 6-1*
3. McCartney Kessler (UF) vs #44 Christina Rosca (VU) DNF (UF 6-2, 4-4)
4. Amanda Meyer (VU) def. Victoria Emma (UF) 6-1, 6-2
5. Emma Kurtz (VU) vs Peggy Porter (UF) DNF (UF 6-5)
6. Summer Dvorak (VU) def. Katie Kubicz (UF) 6-2, 6-1

Match Notes:
Vanderbilt 22-3, 12-1 SEC; National ranking #23
Florida 18-8, 11-2 SEC; National ranking #9

Gator Pronunciations