Florida Gators
Ole Miss (SEC Tourn. QF)
W-Tennis Advances to SEC SF; Def. Ole Miss 4-0
Saturday, April 19, 2003 | Women's Tennis
The top-seeded University of Florida women's tennis team cruised past ninth-seeded Ole Miss 4-0 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. The Gators (23-2) looked fresh during their initial match at the league's postseason event, needing just 42 minutes to secure the doubles point and one hour and 20 minutes to capture three singles victories en route to the shutout at the UT Varsity Courts.
"I was pleased that we were able to get off the court fairly quickly and have a little more time to get ready for the semifinals," UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. "We're playing well and feeling good. I'm excited about our next match but it will be tough."
The Gators next play eighth-ranked Tennessee, which is hosting the four-day SEC Tournament, in the semifinals on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. The No. 4-seeded Lady Vols (20-5), who finished the regular season tied for second, defeated instate rival Vanderbilt 4-1 in the quarterfinals. Florida won a 4-3 thriller against Tennessee during the regular season played in Knoxville.
Ole Miss (8-14) appeared fatigued after playing its second match in as many days. In Thursday's opening round, the Lady Rebels needed a three hour and 45 minute singles victory by Karem Harboe to defeat LSU 4-3. Harboe showed the effects of that marathon three-set win, as Julie Rotondi easily dominated the No. 2 court on Friday with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Harboe in 58 minutes to give the Gators a quick 2-0 lead.
"I started moving her side to side from the first point and played a lot more drop shots than I usually would. She had such a long match yesterday and I'm completely fresh and ready to go," Rotondi said. "I could tell from her body language and the way that she was playing that (Harboe) wasn't ready to fight. I wanted to get a match under my belt where I could execute how I wanted to and I didn't have much pressure on me today. Our goal was to get off the court quickly today and save our legs for the next match."
Florida opened the match winning the doubles point in convincing fashion, with the No. 2 pair of Alexis Gordon and Julie Rotondi defeating Audra Adams and Sabrina Peppl 8-2 in 40 minutes, winning the final two receiving games at love. Shortly afterwards, the Gator's No. 3 tandem of Lindsay Dawaf and Julia Scaringe provided the clinching doubles point with an 8-1 win over Karem Harboe and Florencia Basile in 42 minutes. The Gator pair lost just one point off their serve in the final two service games. The No. 1 match was halted once the doubles point was claimed. UF led that match 5-4, serving up one break.
The Gators wasted little time carrying that momentum onto the singles court, where Rotondi, Lindsay Dawaf and Jennifer Magley each won their respective first sets in under 30 minutes.
Dawaf gave Florida a 3-0 lead after her 6-0, 6-4 victory over Florencia Basile at the No. 2 spot. Dawaf took the opening set in 20 minutes, taking the first set with her third break of the match. Basile put up a fight in the second set, and broke Dawaf's first two serves and held a one break lead until the sixth game, where the Gator broke back and held to get the match back on serve. The two played even for the next three games until Dawaf recorded her sixth and final break of the match to take the victory in one hour and six minutes.
Freshman Jennifer Magley capped the Gator win with a 6-0, 7-5 decision against Virginia Tomatis at the No. 5 position. The UF rookie cruised in the opening set before Tomatis regrouped for a battle in the second. The two competitors played the entire second set on serve until Magley earned a break in the 11th game before serving out for the victory.
The Gators led on two of the other three singles courts when play was halted. On the No. 1 court, UF's Julia Scaringe, ranked No. 41 in the country, led 24th-ranked Mira Radu 6-3, 3-3, while Boglarka Berecz held a 6-4, 4-3 advantage over Audra Adams on court No. 6. UF's Alexis Gordon rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the first set and forced a tiebreak against Sabrina Peppl. But Gordon couldn't capitalize on either of her set points, which included a double-fault leading 11-10, as Peppl capped the first set with an ace to claim the set 13-11 in the tiebreaker. Gordon and Peppl were in a change-over when the match was halted because Florida won the dual match.
SEC Women's Tennis Tournament
UT Varsity Courts, Knoxville, Tenn.
Friday, April 18, 2003
Complete Team Results, Quarterfinals
Kentucky 4, Alabama 2
Georgia 4, South Carolina 0
Florida 4, Mississippi 0
Tennessee 4, Vanderbilt 1
UF Individual Results
Doubles
1. Jennifer Magley/Zerene Reyes (30), UF vs. Mira Radu/Virginia Tomatis, UM DNF
2. Alexis Gordon/Julie Rotondi, UF d. Audra Adams/Sabrina Peppl, UM 8-2
3. Lindsay Dawaf/Julia Scaringe, UF d. Karem Harboe/Florencia Basile, UM 8-1*
Singles
1. Julia Scaringe (41), UF vs. Mira Radu (21), UM did not finish
2. Julie Rotondi (28), UF d. Karem Harboe, UM 6-1, 6-1
3. Lindsay Dawaf (24), UF vs. Florencia Basile, UM 6-0, 6-4
4. Alexis Gordon (17), UF vs. Sabrina Peppl, UM did not finish
5. Jennifer Magley (66), UF d. Virginia Tomatis, UM 6-0, 7-5*
6. Boglarka Berecz, UF vs. Audra Adams, UM did not finish
Order of Finish: Doubles - 2, 3; Singles 2, 3, 5
*clinching match
END OF REPORT
