Florida Gators
Texas - NCAA Semifinal
Women's Tennis Falls to Texas 4-3 in NCAA Semifinals
Sunday, May 22, 2005 | Women's Tennis
Florida lost a 4-3 thriller to Texas in the semifinal round of the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships. The Gators (22-3) lost the doubles point, but won the first three singles matches, appeared in control of another and was in a first-set tiebreaker in the other two, before the Lady Longhorns (25-15) rallied to reach their first NCAA final since 1995.
Saturday's match was eerily similar to that 1995 title match that featured Florida and Texas. The Gators took a 4-2 lead after singles play and needed to win just one of the three doubles matches to claim the title. But UT rallied, fighting off one match point at No. 2 doubles, to capture its second of two NCAA championships.
"Texas outplayed us," UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. "We got really tight in doubles. We're young and that showed up out there. It ended up being two 21 or 22-year-olds against a couple of 18-year-olds. We fought our butts off. We were a little tentative in doubles and sometimes that doubles point can be a huge thing. It was here today, but we still thought we had a good chance to win four singles with the way we've been playing. They outplayed us today and you have to give them credit for that."
Florida had its chances to capture the all-important doubles point, but Texas rallied and won the big points en route to taking the early 1-0 team lead. The Gators won the No. 1 position in 39 minutes, as Jennifer Magley and Zerene Reyes topped Katie Ruckert and Kendra Strohm. The Longhorns then evened the doubles wins when Kelly Baritot and Courtney Zauft defeated Lolita Frangulyan and Nina Suvak 8-3 on court No. 3.
The deciding match came down to the No. 2 court where Texas seniors Petra Dizdar and Mia Marovic emerged with a thrilling 9-7 decision over freshmen Whitney Benik and Alex Liles. The match was on-serve through the first seven games until the Gators broke Marovic to take the early lead. But Liles double-faulted on break point and the Longhorns held to get the match back on serve. Benik then held to give the Gators a 6-5 lead and jumped out to a quick advantage on Marovic's serve and managed double-break point. But UF couldn't convert on those two chances and another in the game, as UT escaped with the hold. The Longhorns carried that momentum into the next game, breaking Liles at love. Dizdar then was serving with one match point at 40-30, but the Gators fought back and earned the break to keep the match alive. The next game was filled with drama, as Benik couldn't covert on one game point and UT forced duce and won the next point for the advantage and break point. Marovic then slammed an overhead for the apparent winner, but hit the next and the official did not see it. However, Marovic verified the action and the players went back onto the court. Where Florida couldn't covert two game points and Texas finally broke to take the 8-7 lead. Marovic then served out at love to take the match and clinch the doubles point for UT.
Florida seemed inspired after taking the break between singles and doubles play, roaring out to win the first set on four singles courts, while two others were in an even battle.
Freshman Alex Liles earned her first-ever NCAA singles win with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Courtney Zauft on court No. 5. The first set was on-serve before Liles broke in the ninth game and served out to take the opening frame. She broke again to begin the second en route to a 3-0 lead. But the next four games were breaks, with Liles still holding the edge, as she served out again to take the final game and the match.
Fellow rookie Whitney Benik then followed with her fourth victory of the championships, downing Katie Ruckert 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 37 minutes to give UF a 2-1 lead. Benik had a one-break lead in the second set entering the sixth game, but lost her serve in a trend that featured four breaks. Benik ended that streak but holding in the 10th game to close out the match.
Zerene Reyes, UF's lone senior, then downed Mia Marovic 6-4, 6-4 at the No. 2 position, giving the Gators a 3-1 lead. Both sets were on-serve entering the ninth game, where Reyes broke Marovic both times to capture the victory.
Junior Jennifer Magley then dropped a hard-fought 7-6 (8), 6-3 decision on court No. 1 to Petra Dizdar. Magley rallied from a 5-1 first-set deficit to force a tiebreaker, which she dropped 10-8. Dizdar held to open the second before the two traded breaks and Magley held to even the set at 2-all. The set remained on-serve until Dizdar earned a break in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead and then held to close out the match and end Magley's nine match singles win streak.
"We all gave it our best effort," Magley said. "We were still very hopeful after losing the doubles point. We really thought we could pull it out. We're a very young team and I think we'll learn from today. A couple balls here and there and maybe the outcome would have been different today."
Florida still seemed to be in control, as Boglarka Berecz won the first set of her No. 6 singles match against Ristine Olson. The second set began with four straight breaks before Olson held and broke Berecz to take a 4-3 lead. But Berecz broke right back and the next two games were held until Olson stayed alive by breaking Berecz in the 10th game and forcing a third set where Olson sprinted out to a 4-0 lead and held on to take the 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win and tie the team scoring at 3-all
The deciding match became the No. 3 spot, where Kendra Strohm outlasted Nina Suvak 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-2. The first three games of the third set were breaks, with Strohm coming out on top and taking a 3-1 lead. The next two games were holds, before Strohm earned another break and then served out to clinch the match and the 4-3 team victory for Texas.
"I think I definitely need to work on my transition game," Suvak said. "I learned that today. That was the key in today's match and I didn't have it. There's a lot of room for my game to improve and I'm looking forward to next year."
"Our team gave it everything we had," Thornqvist said. "The have all year and I couldn't be more proud of them and the effort they've given every match this season."
NCAA Women's Tennis Championships Semifinals
Dan Magill Tennis Complex
Athens, Ga.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
NCAA Semifinals Team Results
(1) Stanford def. (12) Clemson, 4-2
(11) Texas def. (2) Florida, 4-3
Individual Florida Results
Final Score: Texas 4, Florida 3
Doubles
1. Jennifer Magley/Zerene Reyes (9), UF def. Katie Ruckert/Kendra Strohm (28), UT 8-3
2. Petra Dizdar/Mia Marovic, UT def. Whitney Benik/Alex Liles, UF 9-7*
3. Kelly Baritot/Courtney Zauft, UT def. Lolita Frangulyan/Nina Suvak, UF 8-3
Singles
1. Petra Dizdar (54), UT def. Jennifer Magley (5), UF 7-6 (7), 6-3
2. Zerene Reyes (13), UF def. Mia Marovic (92), UT 6-4, 6-4
3. Kendra Strohm (84), UT def. Nina Suvak (108), UF 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-2*
4. Whitney Benik, UF def. Katie Ruckert, UT 6-2, 6-4
5. Alex Liles, UF def. Courtney Zauft, UT 6-4, 6-2
6. Ristine Olson, UT def. Boglarka Berecz (77), UF 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish: Doubles-1, 3, 2; Singles-5, 4, 2, 1, 6, 3
*clinched doubles point/dual match
END OF REPORT
