Florida Gators
#8 Miami
W Tennis Comes From Behind To Defeat No. 8 Miami, 4-3
Sunday, February 18, 2007 | Women's Tennis
The fourth-ranked University of Florida women's tennis team overcame losing the doubles point and won two close three-set matches to beat No. 8 Miami on another unseasonably cold day on Sunday afternoon at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
Florida dropped the doubles point, but rebounded to claim singles victories at No. 2, 3, 5 and 6 with Megan Alexander providing the final nail in the coffin as she beat Miami's Audrey Banada in three sets to seal the match. Csilla Borsanyi (No. 3), Nina Suvak (No. 5) and Anastasia Revzina (No. 6) provided the other wins for the Gators.
“As poorly as we played in doubles, we were equally as tough in singles,” Florida head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “For Megan to beat Audrey with the match on the line – that was a huge accomplishment. We have six players that we're comfortable with in tight situations and that's a huge asset for us.”
The victory extended Florida's regular season home winning streak to 48 and UF's overall home winning streak to 34. The Gators also improved to 33-21 all-time against Miami and defeated their second top-10 opponent at home in 2007.
With the match tied at 3-3, Alexander and Banada slugged it out on court No. 2. Alexander won the first set 6-2 with Banada taking the second set 6-3. Alexander cruised to a 4-0 lead in the final frame before Banada battled back to 4-3. Alexander held serve in an especially long game to move on top 5-3 before breaking Banada to end the match.
“We weren't as pumped up for doubles as we should have been, but we came back in singles,” said Alexander, who won her 12th straight singles match. “I knew that I couldn't let Audrey keep clawing her way back in the match, especially when it was down to the wire. That's when I had to really focus in.”
Just prior to Alexander's win, Suvak evened up the match at 3-3 by winning on court No. 5 (2-6, 6-3, 7-5). After struggling in the opening set in which Miami's Caren Seenauth played very well, Suvak calmed down and took the second set. She was up 5-1 in the third before Seenauth stormed back and tied the set at 5-5. Suvak broke Seenauth to move ahead 6-5 and then held serve to pick up the win.
“I was trying to hang in there in the first set,” said Suvak. “I felt like I had control of the match in the second and third sets and then she started playing like she did in the first set and came back to tie it up. Overall, it was a great match and a good day for the Gators. It's good for us to be pushed like this early in the season. We got it together and showed that it's tough to beat us at home.”
Revzina notched the first point for the Gators at No. 6 singles when she beat Miami's Emily Mowery 6-3, 6-1 in one hour and 20 minutes. With the match tied 1-1, Miami's Gina Sabatino defeated Florida's Whitney Benik on court No. 4 (6-1, 7-5) to give Miami a 2-1 advantage. Within minutes of action concluding at No. 4 singles, Borsanyi evened the match again at 2-2 with a victory at the No. 3 spot over Miami's Romy Farah, 6-1, 7-5. At the No. 1 position, UF's Diana Srebrovic fell to No. 1 ranked Audra Cohen in a hard-fought 6-4, 6-4 loss. While the win put Miami up 3-2, the Gators rebounded to take the final two matches and claim the victory.
In doubles play, Borsanyi and Revzina cruised to an 8-0 win in No. 3 doubles in just 36 minutes, but the Gators dropped the doubles point as Miami won at No. 2 doubles 8-3 before claiming the doubles point minutes later with an 8-4 win on court No. 1.
Florida returns to action next Saturday when the Gators host Duke at 1 p.m.
No. 8 Miami at No. 4 Florida
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex * Gainesville, Fla.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Final Score: Florida 4, Miami 3
Doubles
No. 1 Roomy Farah/Audrey Banada (6). UM def. Whitney Benik/Nina Suvak (14), UF 8-4*
No. 2 Audra Cohen/Caren Seenauth, UM def. Megan Alexander/Diana Srebrovic, UF 8-3
No. 3 Csilla Borsanyi/Anastasia Revzina, UF def. Gina Sabatino/Emily Mowery, UM 8-0
Singles
No. 1 Audra Cohen (1), UM def. Diana Srebrovic (11), UF 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 Megan Alexander (95), UF def. Audrey Banada (56), UM 6-2, 3-6, 6-3*
No. 3 Csilla Borsanyi, UF def. Romy Farah (53), UM 6-1, 7-5
No. 4 Gina Sabatino, UM def. Whitney Benik (78), UF 7-5, 6-4
No. 5 Nina Suvak, UF def. Caren Seenauth, UM 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
No. 6 Anastasia Revzina, UF def. Emily Mowery, UM 6-3, 6-1
NOTES: Order of Finish: Doubles-1, 2, 3; Singles-6, 4, 3, 1, 5, 2
