Sunday, April 8
Gainesville, FL
12:00 PM
Florida Gators
4
vs
3
GEORGIA
Sunday, April 8, 2001 | Women's Tennis
The third ranked University of Florida women's tennis team claimed sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference after defeating No. 4 Georgia 4-3 Sunday afternoon at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex in front of a vocal crowd of 423. The Gators improved to 16-1 overall and 8-0 in the SEC, while the Lady Bulldogs fell to 16-2, 8-1 in league action.
Florida has three SEC dual matches remaining, all on the road. The Gators travel to Ole Miss on April 13, to Mississippi State on April 15 and then play Vanderbilt on April 18 in Starkville, Miss.
"We're really happy to be undefeated in the SEC right now," UF junior Jessica Lehnhoff said. "We hope to continue the way we've been playing, mentally and physically. This is what we work for, to win the tough matches. We learned a lot from the loss to Duke. I think everything we didn't do in the match against Duke we did today. In a way, losing to Duke helped us get today's win."
Sunday's victory was Florida's 103rd consecutive home win against an SEC opponent, having never lost a dual match.
"This was a very competitive match. It was a very, very good match to watch because it was hard fought and there was a lot of good tennis," UF head coach Andy Brandi said. "Georgia is a great team. They are the defending NCAA champions. This was another great match between the two schools."
The match opened with tremendous doubles competition. Florida's freshmen doubles team of Annika Bengtsson and Lindsay Dawaf opened the No. 3 match with a service break over Anne Nguyen and Mariel Verban and controlled the tempo for a solid 8-1 victory in 46 minutes. However, Georgia jumped out to significant leads at the other two doubles positions, which concluded two minutes apart.
Florida clinched the doubles point at the No. 2 position, where Stephanie Hazlett and Julia Scaringe rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the game scoring and then again in the tiebreaker against Christa Grey and Lori Grey to post a 9-8 (4) win. Hazlett, who is a senior playing in her final regular season home match, hit an incredible drop shot for a winner on match point to seal the victory.
At the No. 1 doubles position, UF's Whitney Laiho and Jessica Lehnhoff found themselves trailing Agata Cioroch and Tina Hojnik 5-1 and receiving. The next four games in the match featured service breaks, with the Lady Bulldog duo taking a 6-3 lead. Laiho then held serve before the Gators earned another service break to close to 6-5. But on the next game, UF couldn't hold and Cioroch was serving for the match at 7-5. Florida broke right back and the teams held serve over the next three games to force a tiebreak, where the Gators jumped out to a 4-1 lead and never looked back en route to the 9-8 (2) victory. The Florida pair kept their unbeaten streak alive, improving their season record to 21-0, including a 16-0 mark in dual matches.
"Georgia really jumped out to a quick start at No. 1 doubles," Brandi said of UF's comeback in doubles. "It was interesting to watch Jessica and Whitney because I thought they were trying too hard. Stephanie and Julia were the same. But once they realized that they needed to relax and just let things flow and play, they got it done."
After doubles play, Georgia found itself in an early deficit on all six singles courts. In collegiate tennis, teams are permitted a five-minute break at the conclusion of doubles before returning to the court for singles play. Georgia did not return to the courts for the five-minute warm-up for over 20 minutes and Janice Crawford, the head official, was forced to assess a one-game penalty in each match.
Freshman Annika Bengtsson provided the clinching dual match point for Florida at the No. 6 position, where she topped 70th-ranked Tina Hojnik 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 19 minutes. The Gator rookie jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set and regrouped after losing her serve in the sixth game to break back and hold serve to close out the opening set. In the second set, Bengtsson opened with another service break and then held serve to take a quick 2-0 lead. Hojnik held serve a earned a break of her own, but Bengtsson broke right back and closed out the match winning the final four games.
"It felt great to be out there and help my teammates win," Bengtsson said. "We really wanted that one. I just tried to focus on being aggressive."
UF's other freshman opened individual play giving the Gator's their first singles victory. Lindsay Dawaf needed 56 minutes to defeat Lori Grey and give the Gators a 2-0 lead in the dual match.
The second match off the court was No. 5 singles, where Gator sophomore Julia Scaringe lost to Agata Cioroch 6-4, 6-1. Shortly after those players shook hands, the No. 1 match was coming to a close. Georgia's Aarthi Venkatesan, who was playing her first singles match since suffering an injury on February 18, topped Whitney Laiho 6-4, 6-3 as the Gator's lead closed to 3-2.
At the No. 2 singles spot, Jessica Lehnhoff cruised through the first set against Mariel Verban, but found herself trailing midway through the second. Verban earned a break in the fifth game, but couldn't capitalize and Lehnhoff broke back and held serve to take a 4-3 lead. The Gator junior then broke Verban in a well played game before holding serve to win the match 6-0, 6-3.
As soon as Bengtsson clinched the dual match for Florida, the Gators opted to default the No. 4 singles match that was on serve in the third set. Stephanie Hazlett won the first set of that match against Anne Nguyen 6-0, but lost the second 6-1. Hazlett was serving at 1-2 when Florida secured its fourth victory of the dual match.
NCAA Women's Tennis
Sunday, April 8, 2001
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, FL
Final Score: Florida 4, Georgia 3
Doubles
No. 1 Whitney Laiho & Jessica Lehnhoff (9), UF d. Agata Cioroch & Tina Hojnik (27), UG 9-8 (2)
No. 2 Stephanie Hazlett & Julia Scaringe, UF d. Christa Grey & Lori Grey, UG 9-8 (4)*
No. 3 Annika Bengtsson & Lindsay Dawaf, UF d. Anne Nguyen & Mariel Verban, UG 8-1
Singles
No. 1 Aarthi Venkatesan (10), UG d. Whitney Laiho (11), UF 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 Jessica Lehnhoff (22), UF d. Mariel Verban (32), UG 6-0, 6-3
No. 3 Lindsay Dawaf (62), UF d. Lori Grey (73), UG 6-2, 6-0
No. 4 Anne Nguyen (26), UG d. Stephanie Hazlett, UF default (dual match clinched; match on serve in third set)
No. 5 Agata Cioroch (59), UG d. Julia Scaringe (90), UF 6-4, 6-1
No. 6 Annika Bengtsson, UF d. Tina Hojnik (70), UG 6-2, 6-2*
Florida has three SEC dual matches remaining, all on the road. The Gators travel to Ole Miss on April 13, to Mississippi State on April 15 and then play Vanderbilt on April 18 in Starkville, Miss.
"We're really happy to be undefeated in the SEC right now," UF junior Jessica Lehnhoff said. "We hope to continue the way we've been playing, mentally and physically. This is what we work for, to win the tough matches. We learned a lot from the loss to Duke. I think everything we didn't do in the match against Duke we did today. In a way, losing to Duke helped us get today's win."
Sunday's victory was Florida's 103rd consecutive home win against an SEC opponent, having never lost a dual match.
"This was a very competitive match. It was a very, very good match to watch because it was hard fought and there was a lot of good tennis," UF head coach Andy Brandi said. "Georgia is a great team. They are the defending NCAA champions. This was another great match between the two schools."
The match opened with tremendous doubles competition. Florida's freshmen doubles team of Annika Bengtsson and Lindsay Dawaf opened the No. 3 match with a service break over Anne Nguyen and Mariel Verban and controlled the tempo for a solid 8-1 victory in 46 minutes. However, Georgia jumped out to significant leads at the other two doubles positions, which concluded two minutes apart.
Florida clinched the doubles point at the No. 2 position, where Stephanie Hazlett and Julia Scaringe rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the game scoring and then again in the tiebreaker against Christa Grey and Lori Grey to post a 9-8 (4) win. Hazlett, who is a senior playing in her final regular season home match, hit an incredible drop shot for a winner on match point to seal the victory.
At the No. 1 doubles position, UF's Whitney Laiho and Jessica Lehnhoff found themselves trailing Agata Cioroch and Tina Hojnik 5-1 and receiving. The next four games in the match featured service breaks, with the Lady Bulldog duo taking a 6-3 lead. Laiho then held serve before the Gators earned another service break to close to 6-5. But on the next game, UF couldn't hold and Cioroch was serving for the match at 7-5. Florida broke right back and the teams held serve over the next three games to force a tiebreak, where the Gators jumped out to a 4-1 lead and never looked back en route to the 9-8 (2) victory. The Florida pair kept their unbeaten streak alive, improving their season record to 21-0, including a 16-0 mark in dual matches.
"Georgia really jumped out to a quick start at No. 1 doubles," Brandi said of UF's comeback in doubles. "It was interesting to watch Jessica and Whitney because I thought they were trying too hard. Stephanie and Julia were the same. But once they realized that they needed to relax and just let things flow and play, they got it done."
After doubles play, Georgia found itself in an early deficit on all six singles courts. In collegiate tennis, teams are permitted a five-minute break at the conclusion of doubles before returning to the court for singles play. Georgia did not return to the courts for the five-minute warm-up for over 20 minutes and Janice Crawford, the head official, was forced to assess a one-game penalty in each match.
Freshman Annika Bengtsson provided the clinching dual match point for Florida at the No. 6 position, where she topped 70th-ranked Tina Hojnik 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 19 minutes. The Gator rookie jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set and regrouped after losing her serve in the sixth game to break back and hold serve to close out the opening set. In the second set, Bengtsson opened with another service break and then held serve to take a quick 2-0 lead. Hojnik held serve a earned a break of her own, but Bengtsson broke right back and closed out the match winning the final four games.
"It felt great to be out there and help my teammates win," Bengtsson said. "We really wanted that one. I just tried to focus on being aggressive."
UF's other freshman opened individual play giving the Gator's their first singles victory. Lindsay Dawaf needed 56 minutes to defeat Lori Grey and give the Gators a 2-0 lead in the dual match.
The second match off the court was No. 5 singles, where Gator sophomore Julia Scaringe lost to Agata Cioroch 6-4, 6-1. Shortly after those players shook hands, the No. 1 match was coming to a close. Georgia's Aarthi Venkatesan, who was playing her first singles match since suffering an injury on February 18, topped Whitney Laiho 6-4, 6-3 as the Gator's lead closed to 3-2.
At the No. 2 singles spot, Jessica Lehnhoff cruised through the first set against Mariel Verban, but found herself trailing midway through the second. Verban earned a break in the fifth game, but couldn't capitalize and Lehnhoff broke back and held serve to take a 4-3 lead. The Gator junior then broke Verban in a well played game before holding serve to win the match 6-0, 6-3.
As soon as Bengtsson clinched the dual match for Florida, the Gators opted to default the No. 4 singles match that was on serve in the third set. Stephanie Hazlett won the first set of that match against Anne Nguyen 6-0, but lost the second 6-1. Hazlett was serving at 1-2 when Florida secured its fourth victory of the dual match.
NCAA Women's Tennis
Sunday, April 8, 2001
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, FL
Final Score: Florida 4, Georgia 3
Doubles
No. 1 Whitney Laiho & Jessica Lehnhoff (9), UF d. Agata Cioroch & Tina Hojnik (27), UG 9-8 (2)
No. 2 Stephanie Hazlett & Julia Scaringe, UF d. Christa Grey & Lori Grey, UG 9-8 (4)*
No. 3 Annika Bengtsson & Lindsay Dawaf, UF d. Anne Nguyen & Mariel Verban, UG 8-1
Singles
No. 1 Aarthi Venkatesan (10), UG d. Whitney Laiho (11), UF 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 Jessica Lehnhoff (22), UF d. Mariel Verban (32), UG 6-0, 6-3
No. 3 Lindsay Dawaf (62), UF d. Lori Grey (73), UG 6-2, 6-0
No. 4 Anne Nguyen (26), UG d. Stephanie Hazlett, UF default (dual match clinched; match on serve in third set)
No. 5 Agata Cioroch (59), UG d. Julia Scaringe (90), UF 6-4, 6-1
No. 6 Annika Bengtsson, UF d. Tina Hojnik (70), UG 6-2, 6-2*
Friday, November 06
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