The 17th-ranked University of Florida women's tennis team blanked Auburn 7-0 in its Southeastern Conference home opener played at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
Friday's victory, which experienced a one hour-15 minute rain delay, extended the Gator's remarkable home record versus SEC foes to 121-1 all-time, while remaining a perfect in 25 meetings against Auburn (6-8, 0-5 SEC).
"I thought we played well tonight," UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. "Auburn played hard and made us fight to win. We played two new doubles combinations and I really liked what I saw."
The Gators (9-2, 3-2 SEC) conclude their four-match home stand on Sunday, when they play host to No. 23 Alabama beginning at 1 p.m. Admission is FREE.
UF's Nina Suvak was delayed nine minutes from starting her singles match on court No. 5, but once the court was dried the Gator sophomore wasted little time clinching the dual match for UF, needing just 1:04 to top Nancy Peaden 6-4, 6-0.
Freshman Alex Liles was the first Gator off the singles court, also needing 1:04 to polish off Petra Vercik 6-2, 6-1 on court No. 3. Liles held her serve throughout the match and earned breaks in the sixth and eighth games of the first set and in the second and sixth games of the second.
Junior Jennifer Magley posted an impressive 6-2, 6-1 victory over Jelena Jovic at the No. 1 position to give the Gators a 3-0 lead in the dual match. Magley, who held serve throughout her match, opened with a break en route to a 4-0 lead and eventually took the first set. She then broke Jovic in the third, fifth and seventh games, with the final one at love to clinch the victory.
Zerene Reyes, Whitney Benik and Lolita Frangulyan then completed the sweep with victories on courts No. 2, 4, and 6, respectively.
Reyes was zipping along against Isabel Rosenbrock, serving out the initial game at love before breaking the Tiger at love in the sixth game to take the bagel in the first set. After falling behind 2-0 in the second, Rosenbrock finally broke through taking Reyes' serve in the third game and evened the set at 2-all. But Reyes broke again in the sixth game and that's all she needed to take the second set and the match, 6-0, 6-3.
Benik's match against Ashley Cowart featured four breaks in the first six games and with the match on serve at 3-all, Benik broke Cowart and then held to take a 5-3 lead. The Gator rookie then broke Cowart at love in the ninth game to seal the first set. She then held serve throughout the second, earning breaks in the fourth and eighth games to take the victory 6-3, 6-2.
Frangulyan held at love to start the match versus Tori Almangno, which was on serve until the Gator freshman earned the first break I the eighth game. However, she couldn't serve out to take the first, but rallied on Almangno's next serve to break for the first set. Frangulyan then carried that momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead en route to the 6-4, 6-2 win.
Florida won the doubles point for the 35th consecutive time in a regular season dual match, sweeping all three positions. UF's top duo of Jennifer Magley and Zerene Reyes were the first off the court with an 8-2 victory over Jelena Jovic and Isabel Rosenbrock.
Then the first-time tandem of Whitney Benik and Alex Liles capped a successful debut with an 8-3 win at the No. 2 spot to clinch the doubles point. The new pair trailed 0-2 to start the match before finding their groove, earning a break in the third game and then winning the next two games at love en route to the impressive win.
Moments later, Boglarka Berecz and Nina Suvak completed the sweep with an 8-2 win on court No. 3 in 45 minutes.
Women's College Tennis
Auburn at No. 17 Florida
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, Fla.
Friday, March 25, 2005
Final Score: Florida 7, Auburn 0
Doubles
No. 1 Jennifer Magley/Zerene Reyes (11), UF def. Jelena Jovic/Isabel Rosenbrock, AU 8-2
No. 2 Whitney Benik/Alex Liles, UF def. Petra Bercik/Ashley Cowart, AU 8-3*
No. 3 Boglarka Berecz/Nina Suvak, UF def. Nancy Peaden/Sarah Suitor, AU 8-2
Singles
No. 1 Jennifer Magley (12), UF def. Jelena Jovic, AU 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 Zerene Reyes (17), UF def. Isabel Rosenbrock, AU 6-0, 6-3
No. 3 Alex Liles, UF def. Petra Bercik, AU 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 Whitney Benik, UF def. Ashley Cowart, AU 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 Nina Suvak, UF def. Nancy Peaden, AU 6-4, 6-0*
No. 6 Lolita Frangulyan, UF def. Tori Almangno, AU 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish: Doubles-1, 2, 3; Singles-3, 1, 5, 2, 4, 6
*clinched doubles point/dual match
END OF REPORT
