Florida Gators
Vanderbilt (SEC Tourn. Final)
Women's Tennis Captures SEC Tournament Title
Monday, April 19, 2004 | Women's Tennis
The second-ranked University of Florida women's tennis team captured its third consecutive Southeastern Conference Tournament title with Sunday's hard-fought 4-0 victory over third-ranked Vanderbilt at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center.
Florida (22-0), which has won 13 SEC Tournament titles in the 17-year history of the event, receives the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Championships. The entire 64-team field for the NCAA Championships will be revealed on Wed., May 5 at 4:30 p.m. in a televised announcement on ESPNews. NCAA First and Second Round matches will be played May 14 through 16 on 16 campus sites, also revealed during the selection show. Winners of the second round matches advance to Athens, Ga., for the remainder of the Championships.
Sunday's victory extended UF's winning streak to 39 consecutive matches. The Gators have not lost since a 4-3 setback to Vanderbilt on March 16, 2003 in Nashville. It is the third longest win streak in program history.
"This feels great!" UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said after winning the title. "It's what you work for all season long and during the off-season. It never gets old."
"We played better each day the tournament went along and we played our best tennis today," Thornqvist continued. "We knew we had to in order to prevail. I'm happy that our players have the knack of playing their best tennis at the biggest moment. Vanderbilt just fights until the bitter end and we knew we this was going to be a closely contested match. They brought out the best in us today. Today we did a phenomenal job of coming through in clutch moments. There were no free points from our side today and that made it really tough for Vanderbilt to score."
The SEC Tournament marked the return to the singles court for senior Julie Rotondi, who had been sidelined with an injury since March 5. She was forced into action because of an injury to junior Zerene Reyes, who sat out the singles portion of the first two days of the SEC Tournament, but did return to the lineup for the final.
Rotondi, who provided the heroics last May when she clinched the NCAA Championship for the Gators, seems to have a knack for coming through in the most intense moments. On Sunday, she was named the SEC Tournament's Most Valuable Performer after capping a three-day run with her third singles victory that included clinching UF's wins in the semifinal and championship. In the final she defeated Annie Meenes 6-2, 6-4 to secure the title.
"This is all really incredible to me because I really didn't think I was going to play singles again," Rotondi said. "To be in the position I was today, was great. I had been in this situation before and I had a little more experience in these types of matches than [Annie Meenes]. That gave me a lot of confidence. I knew that weather or not my strokes were 100 percent, my competitive edge was still there. It helped that I continued to play doubles during my injury."
Minutes before Rotondi provided the clinching victory, sophomore Jennifer Magley polished off Kelly Schmandt 6-2, 6-4 in a tough battle at the No. 2 position. With the first set on serve through eight games, Magley broke Schmandt in a long game and then served out for the opening set. She then jumped out to a 4-1 lead behind a pair of breaks before Schmandt began to rally, taking Magley's next serve to close to 4-2 with the serve. However, Magley broke right back in an extremely long game and seeming to hold the momentum as she served out for the victory.
"Today's championship is a reward for all of our hard work," Magley said. "Today's win was a step in the right direction toward the NCAA Championships. I felt better about my serve during today's match. This was a good win for me because Schmandt is such a hard fighter."
Sophomore Boglarka Berecz was the first Gator off the singles court, posting a 6-4, 6-2 win over Amanda Fish at the No. 4 position. Fish took control early in the match, jumping out to a quick 4-1 lead before Berecz began her comeback, winning 11 of the next 13 games to take the match and give the Gators a 2-0 lead.
Florida took the doubles point in thrilling fashion, earning victories on courts No. 2 and 3.
The young Gator doubles duo of sophomore Boglarka Berecz and freshman Nina Suvak avenged their regular season loss to Ashley Schellhas and Amanda Fish with a convincing 8-2 win on court No. 3. Berecz and Suvak raced out to a quick 4-0 lead before the Commodore pair got on the board with a break of Berecz's serve. However, the Gator pair broke Fish in the ensuing game to maintain their two-break lead en route to the win.
"They jumped out to a 7-1 lead early and that really helped take the pressure off of the other two courts," Thornqvist said.
On court No. 2, the Florida pair of Jennifer Magley and Zerene Reyes recorded their 21st consecutive victory and clinched the doubles point in dramatic fashion. The Commodores' Audra Falk and Annie Meenes jumped on Magley's serve in the first game to earn the first of nine breaks that occurred during the 8-game pro set. The Gator pair appeared to be in control after breaking Falk in the 10th game to take a 7-3 lead. But Reyes fell behind on her serve in the next game and couldn't close out the match. After Meenes held, Magley was serving at 40-30 for the match, but Vandy rallied to break her serve and close within 7-6. However, UF regrouped and won the first three points on Falk's serve and eventually earned the final break two points later to win the match.
While court No. 1 didn't get the chance to finish, it proved to be an excellent matchup with UF's eighth-ranked pair of Alexis Gordon and Julie Rotondi facing VU's third-ranked Aleke Tsoubanos and Kelly Schmandt. The match was even at 7-all when play was halted after the Gators clinched the doubles point on court No. 2. On the showcase court, the Gators earned the first break on the match, taking Tsoubanos' serve in the second game. The teams remained on serve until Vanderbilt evened the match in the 11th game, breaking Rotondi on their second break point opportunity. Gordon fought off one break point on her serve to hold and give UF a 7-6 lead, but Tsoubanos followed by holding her serve just as the Gators finished play on court No. 2.
"Winning the doubles point is always a huge key," Thornqvist said.
SEC Women's Tennis Tournament Final
Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center
Nashville, Tenn.
April 18, 2004
Final Score: Florida 4, Vanderbilt 0
Doubles
No. 1 Alexis Gordon/Julie Rotondi (8), UF tied Aleke Tsoubanos/Kelly Schmandt (3), VU 7-7 suspended
No. 2 Jennifer Magley/Zerene Reyes (20), UF def. Audra Falk/Annie Meenes (39), VU 8-6*
No. 3 Boglarka Berecz/Nina Suvak, UF def. Ashley Schellhas/Amanda Fish, VU 8-2
Singles
No. 1 Alexis Gordon (1), UF tied Audra Falk (14), VU 6-1, 4-6, 2-2 suspended
No. 2 Jennifer Magley (24), UF def. Kelly Schmandt (40), VU 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 Zerene Reyes (45), UF led Aleke Tsoubanos, VU 7-5, 4-4 suspended
No. 4 Boglarka Berecz (99), UF def. Amanda Fish (106), VU 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 Lindsay Dawaf (T-110), UF tied Ashley Schellhas, VU 5-7, 6-3, 1-1 suspended
No. 6 Julie Rotondi (75), UF def. Annie Meenes (121), VU 6-2, 6-4*
Order of Finish: Doubles-3, 2; Singles- 4, 2, 6
