The women's tennis match between No. 5 Florida and Auburn was delayed 30 minutes because of early morning rain that blanketed Gainesville on Sunday. Once the courts were dried, dampness and a cold wind swirled into Linder Stadium, but it didn't prevent the Gators from heating up quickly in their 7-0 shutout over the Tigers.
The victory was Florida's 11th sweep of the season, and improved the Gator's overall record to 19-2 and a 7-1 mark in the SEC. Auburn fell to 9-7, including 2-7 in the SEC.
UF senior Julia Scaringe highlighted Sunday's victory, as she completely dominated Carolina Ramirez 6-0, 6-2 at the No. 1 singles position. Scaringe needed just 19 minutes to claim the first set, losing only three points in the first four games. She lost just one point during the first three games of the second set, assuming a 3-0 lead with a pair of breaks. Ramirez prevented the double-bagel by breaking Scaringe in the fourth game and then holding in the fifth. But Scaringe, who totaled five love-games in the match and two games losing just one point, was simply too strong today and won the remaining games to log the 48-minute win.
"The last five or six matches I've played, even the matches I've lost, have come down to just one or two points here and there. They were little things that made the difference and it gave me something to work on," Scaringe said. "Today, it just all came together. I went after every shot and they all seemed to go in. It felt really good."
Gator freshman Jennifer Magley quickly and quietly disposed of Sarah Suitor 6-1, 6-0 at the No. 5 position to lift Florida to a 3-0 lead in the dual match. Suitor held serve in the fourth game to prevent the double-bagel. Like Scaringe, Magley lost very few points throughout the course of the match, even serving out the final game at love to secure the win.
Julie Rotondi provided the clinching dual match win with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Liz Sauerborn. But Rotondi's win came in a much different manner than Scaringe's or Magley's. The No. 3 singles battle opened with four consecutive breaks of serve. Rotondi earned the first hold, when she served a love game in the fifth and then broke Sauerborn to take a 4-2 lead with the serve. Rotondi held and then broke Sauerborn again, this time at love, to take the first set. The second began similarly to the first, as Sauerborn earned two quick breaks and then held to take a 3-1 lead. Both held on their respective next serves, before Rotondi won eight of the next nine points to get the match back on serve at 4-3. She then posted the 11th break of the match before serving out at love to take the victory in one hour and five minutes.
Gator junior Lindsay Dawaf topped Petra Bercik shortly afterwards with a 6-2, 6-1 victory at the No. 2 spot. Dawaf's match lasted just one hour and two minutes, but she and Bercik began a few minutes later than the dual on court No. 3, preventing them from recording the clinching victory. Dawaf did not lose her serve during the match, earning breaks in the third and fifth games of the opening set, and then in the first and third games in the deciding set to secure the victory.
Alexis Gordon played several duce games against Isabel Rosenbrock, but the Gator sophomore was the one who played the bigger points better en route to the 6-3, 6-1 victory at the No. 4 position. There were just two service breaks in the first set, with Gordon claiming both, including one in the ninth game to win the opening set. Gordon outlasted Rosenbrock in a long game to begin the second and then used that momentum to earn a break in the next game. She then held to take a 3-0 lead, before Rosenbrock held. But Gordon continued to play well, holding her serve for the rest of the match and breaking Rosenbrock at love in the sixth game before serving out for the victory.
UF freshman Boglarka Berecz was involved in the longest match of the day, needing one hour and 31 minutes to defeat Martina Janska 6-4, 6-3 at the No. 6 position. Practically every point throughout the match was a long baseline rally, with a total of nine service breaks recorded. The match was on serve in the first match entering the 10th game, where Berecz outlasted Janska in perhaps the longest game of the day and won the set with a break. The second set was similar to the first, with four breaks occurring during the middle of the set, which was on serve with Berecz leading 4-3. The Gator rookie capitalized on her second break point in the eighth game to serve for the match. Berecz fought off one break point and claimed the victory with her second match point to complete the Florida sweep in straight sets.
On the No. 1 doubles court, the two teams played on serve until the Gator duo of Jennifer Magley and Zerene Reyes broke Petra Bercik and Carolina Ramirez in the four game to take a 3-1 lead. Magley then held before the UF tandem earned another break and Reyes followed by holding her serve, giving the Gators a 6-1 advantage. Bercik and Ramirez owned one game point in the eighth game, but the Gators rallied to earn their third break of the match and then Magley served a love game and polished off the victory 8-1 in 36 minutes with an overhead smash down the line.
UF's No. 2 doubles team of Alexis Gordon and Julie Rotondi opened their match against Ashley Coward and Liz Sauerborn with a 2-0 lead, before winning eight of the next nine points to take a 4-0 lead. But the Tiger duo battled back and broke Gordon's serve to get on the board and take back one of the breaks. However, the Gators won an extremely tough and long game off Coward's serve to assume a 5-1 advantage. Rotondi won her game and love and the UF duo lost just one point on Sauerborn's serve to come within one game of victory. But the Gators found themselves facing a 15-40 deficit on Gordon's serve until the UF sophomore cranked up her powerful left-handed serve to help the Gators win four consecutive points and take the 8-1 win which clinched the doubles point in 39 minutes.
The Gators had a real battle on court No. 3, where UF's Lindsay Dawaf and Julia Scaringe needed one hour and four minutes to post an 8-5 victory over Isabel Rosenbrock and Sarah Suitor.
College Women's Tennis
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, FL
Sunday, March 30, 2003
Final Score: Florida 7, Auburn 0
Doubles
1. Jennifer Magley/Zerene Reyes (37), UF, d. Petra Bercik/Carolina Ramirez (59), AU, 8-1
2. Alexis Gordon/Julie Rotondi, UF, d. Ashley Coward/Liz Sauerborn, AU, 8-1*
3. Lindsay Dawaf/Julia Scaringe, UF, d. Isabel Rosenbrock/Sarah Suitor, AU 8-5
Singles
1. Julia Scaringe (41), UF, d. Carolina Ramirez, AU, 6-0, 6-2
2. Lindsay Dawaf (22), UF, d. Petra Bercik, AU, 6-2, 6-1
3. Julie Rotondi (30), UF, d. Liz Sauerborn, AU, 6-2, 6-3*
4. Alexis Gordon (14), UF, d. Isabel Rosenbrock, AU, 6-3, 6-1
5. Jennifer Magley (72), UF, d. Sarah Suitor, AU, 6-1, 6-0
6. Boglarka Berecz, UF, d. Martina Janska, AU, 6-4, 6-3
*Clinching doubles & dual match point
END OF REPORT
