The fourth-ranked University of Florida women's tennis team continued its winning ways by defeating No. 32 Florida International, 7-0, Sunday afternoon at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
The victory lifted the Gators to 5-0 on the season and was UF's 45th consecutive regular season home victory and 32nd straight overall home win. Florida International fell for the first time this season as its record stands at 4-1.
"I thought we played pretty well today," said UF head coach Roland Thornqvist. "Doubles was really good, which is key down the stretch. We try to do lots of things offensively and it was good to see all three spots implement that. We were also tested at some spots we needed to be tested at in singles and that was good to see.
UF earned the doubles point by sweeping all three courts in just over an hour. Florida's top two doubles courts made quick work of their opponents to capture the point. Whitney Benik and Nina Suvak (No. 14) defeated FIU's Egle Petrauskaite and Priscilla Castillo, 8-3, on court one. Four minutes later, Megan Alexander and Diana Srebrovic made it a 1-0 UF advantage with an 8-5 win on two over Nikkita Fountain and Paula Zabala.
"Doubles is always going to be a key for us," Thornqvist continued. "We have depth in singles, so if we can steal the doubles point it will be hard on our opponents to win four singles matches against us, especially at home."
In singles play, UF took straight set wins on each court to record its third shutout of the season.
Alexander made it 2-0 in Florida's favor with a 6-3, 6-0 showing on court two against Petrauskaite. The two entered the match tied at No. 95 in the latest edition of the ITA singles rankings. The win was the tenth-straight for Alexander.
Srebrovic (No. 11) got the Gators to within one of the win when she took out Zabala on court one, 6-1, 6-2. Five minutes later, freshman Csilla Borsanyi clinched the win by defeating Marijana Cutuk on court three, 6-4, 6-2.
Benik (14), Suvak and Anastasia Revzina each added to the Gators point total. Revzina was pushed in her second set by Mara Pazo on court six. After taking the first set, 6-0, Revzina fell behind 5-2 in the second before going on to win five straight games for a 6-0, 7-5 win.
Florida's next match is against No. 20 Texas on Saturday, February 17 at 11 a.m. in Gainesville. Admission is free.
Women's College Tennis
No. 4 Florida hosted No. 32 Florida International
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, Fla.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Final Score: Florida 7, FIU 0
Doubles
No. 1 Whitney Benik/Nina Suvak (14), UF def. Egle Petrauskiate/Priscilla Castillo, FIU, 8-3
No. 2 Megan Alexander/Diana Srebrovic, UF def. Nikkita Fountain/Paula Zabala, FIU, 8-5
No. 3 Csilla Borsanyi/Anastasia Revzina, UF def. Marijana Cutuk/Shilla D'Armas, FIU, 8-3
Singles
No. 1 Diana Srebrovic (11), UF def. Paula Zabala, FIU, 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Megan Alexander (95), UF def. Egle Petrauskaite (95), FIU, 6-3, 6-0
No. 3 Csilla Borsanyi, UF def. Marijana Cutuk, FIU, 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 Whitney Benik (78), UF def. Shilla D'Armas, FIU, 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 Nina Suvak, UF def. Priscilla Castillo, FIU, 6-2, 6-4
No. 6 Anastasia Revzina, UF def. Maria Pazo, FIU, 6-0, 7-5
Order of Finish: Doubles 1, 2, 3; Singles 2, 1, 5, 3, 6, 4
*clinched doubles point/dual match
