Florida Gators
Georgia
Women's Tennis Has SEC Home Streak End with Loss
Sunday, April 7, 2002 | Women's Tennis
All streaks eventually end, and today the Florida's women's tennis team had its amazing SEC home winning streak snapped. Second-ranked Georgia became the first-ever SEC team to defeat the Gators at home in 109 attempts, surviving a thrilling 4-3 decision at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex in front of 737 fans.
Georgia's win also helped the Bulldogs clinch at least a tie for the SEC regular-season championship, as their record improved to 20-1 overall, 10-0 in the SEC. Top-ranked Florida, which had been the lone undefeated team remaining in the country, drops to 15-1 overall, 9-1 in league play.
"Today, two of the top teams in tennis battled to the end and unfortunately for us, Georgia came out on top," UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. "I thought both teams battled hard. We have some things we will work on and areas where we can improve to get ready for our last match."
Florida next travels to South Carolina on Sunday to play its regular season finale, while Georgia plays host to Tennessee.
The deciding match came down to the No. 6 singles position, where Georgia's Alexandra Smith defeated Annika Bengtsson 7-5, 6-3 to secure the dramatic win over the Gators. Bengtsson led 5-3 in the first set, up one break, but Smith won the next four games to claim the opening set. Bengtsson then raced out to a 3-0 lead in the second set behind a pair of service breaks. Smith requested a restroom break and when she returned, she had regrouped and won the final six games of the set to capture the match.
Florida opened the match by winning the doubles point, claiming victories at the No. 2 and 3 positions. Freshman Alexis Gordon then gave the Gators a 2-0 lead after her 6-1, 6-4 victory over Tina Hojnik at the No. 4 spot.
The no. 2 singles match was the next one to finish and Mariel Verban gave Georgia its first point of the match with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Lindsay Dawaf. The first set featured eight service breaks, as Dawaf found herself trailing 5-3 and down a pair of breaks. But she fought back and won the eighth and ninth games of the set at love and then held to get the set back on serve at 5-all. Verban held and then broke Dawaf to take the opening set and the momentum, as she took a quick 4-1 lead in the second and held on for the win.
Senior Jessica Lehnhoff made her final regular-season home appearance and fed off the vocal crowd to defeat Agata Cioroch 6-0, 7-6 (0) at the No. 1 position. Lehnhoff, who improved her season singles record to 23-3, won the first set in 20 minutes and then took the first two games of the second before Cioroch began to battle, earning her first break in the fourth game. But Lehnhoff broke right back and maintained that lead until the eighth game, after which both competitors held serve to force the tiebreaker, which Lehnhoff dominated 7-0.
"I thought I played well, but it's disappointing because of the how our team finished," Lehnhoff said. "We should get to host NCAAs, so I didn't get too overwhelmed about this being my final match at home."
At the No. 3 position, Gator freshman Zerene Reyes suffered her first collegiate loss, as she dropped a 6-4, 6-1 decision to Anne Nguyen. Reyes entered the match having won all of her 15 matches, including six against nationally ranked opponents. That outcome trimmed UF's lead to 3-2 in the team scoring.
UF junior Julia Scaringe battled back from a 5-3 deficit, down two breaks and receiving in the first set of her No. 5 match against Lori Grey to force a tiebreaker. Both players had a chances to claim the first set before the tiebreaker, but neither could capitalize, as Grey took the emotional 8-6 advantage in the breaker to win the opening set. Grey then jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second, before Scaringe earned a break in the third game. But that was the last she would win, as Grey took the match 7-6 (6), 6-1 to even the team score.
College Women's Tennis
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 Georgia
Gainesville, Fla. * Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Sunday, April 7, 2002
Final Score: Georgia 4, Florida 3
Doubles
1-. Agata Cioroch/Lori Grey (12), UG d. Lindsay Dawaf/Jessica Lehnhoff (5), UF 9-7
2- Alexis Gordon/Julia Scaringe, UF d. Tina Hojnik/Mariel Verban (25), UG 8-3
3-Annika Bengtsson/Zerene Reyes, UF d. Anne Nguyen/Alexandra Smith, UG 8-2*
Singles
1-Jessica Lehnhoff (2), UF d. Agata Cioroch (8), UG 6-0, 7-6 (0)
2- Mariel Verban (40), UG d. Lindsay Dawaf (19), UF 7-5, 6-3
3- Anne Nguyen (50), UG d. Zerene Reyes (39), UF 6-4, 6-1
4- Alexis Gordon (94), UF d. Tina Hojnik, UG 6-1, 6-4
5- Lori Grey, UG d. Julia Scaringe, UF 7-6 (6), 6-1
6- Alexandra Smith, UG d. Annika Bengtsson, UF 7-5, 6-3*
*clinched match & doubles point
END OF REPORT
