Florida Gators
#3 Georgia
No. 1 UF Women's Tennis Falls at No. 3 Georgia, 4-3
Sunday, March 11, 2007 | Women's Tennis
The top-ranked University of Florida women's tennis team lost for the first time this season, dropping a tough 4-3 decision to No. 3 Georgia Sunday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
The loss snapped the Gators' 20-match Southeastern Conference regular-season win streak, as Florida fell to 11-1 overall and 2-1 in league action. Georgia (11-0, 4-0 SEC) became the first SEC team to earn a victory over the Gators since Kentucky topped Florida, 5-2, on March 13, 2005 in Lexington.
The doubles point came down to the No. 3 position after Georgia captured the win on court No. 1 and Florida earned the victory on No. 2 when Megan Alexander and Diana Srebrovic defeated Monika Dancevic and Kelley Hyndman, 8-5. The final match was even throughout and needed a tiebreaker to determine the winner, as Georgia's Natalie Frazier and Naoko Ueshima topped Lolita Frangulyan and Anastasia Revzina, 9-8, to give the Lady Bulldogs the doubles point and the momentum entering singles play.
“We certainly had our chances today, but just didn't get it done,” Florida head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “We had a match point in doubles that could have given us the doubles point, but couldn't finish and allowed them back into the match. Overall, I thought we fought valiantly and gave it everything we had. This loss illustrated what we need to work on and I'll think our players will be more focused on those areas in practice because it hurts more after a loss. We need to get more physical playing in the outdoor elements with the wind and the heat. That's my job to get them ready for those conditions.”
Florida seemed ready to battle and overcome the doubles-point deficit, jumping out to leads on every court, winning the first set in five matches. Senior Nina Suvak posted her 11th straight singles win, tying the dual match at 1-all after her 6-3, 6-2 victory over Darya Ivanov on court No. 4.
Georgia re-took the lead as Monika Dancevic collected the Bulldogs' only straight-set win, taking the battle on court No. 2, before 10th-ranked Natalie Frazier defeated 28th-ranked Diana Srebrovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 on the showcase court, which gave the Dawgs a 3-1 advantage.
Florida was on the verge of winning at the No. 5 and No. 6 spots, when Csilla Borsanyi dropped her 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 decision to Yvette Hyndman on court No. 3 to clinch the dual match.
Anastasia Revzina and Whitney Benik capped the match winning the bottom two courts, taking the 6-4, 6-4 and the 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 decisions, respectively.
Florida has a full two weeks to regroup and prepare for its next matches, continuing its four-match road swing by traveling to Arkansas and LSU on March 23rd and 25th.
Women's College Tennis
No. 1 Florida at No. 3 Georgia
Dan Magill Tennis Center
Athens, Ga.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Final Score: Georgia 4, Florida 3
Doubles
No. 1 Yvette Hyndman/Darya Ivanov (15), UF d. Whitney Benik/Nina Suvak, UF 8-3
No. 2 Megan Alexander/Diana Srebrovic (31), UF d. Monika Dancevic/Kelley Hyndman (38), UG 8-5
No. 3 Natalie Frazier/Naoko Ueshima, UG d. Lolita Frangulyan/Anastasia Revzina, UF 9-8*
Singles
No. 1 Natalie Frazier (10), UG d. Diana Srebrovic (28), UF 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 Monika Dancevic (50), UF d. Megan Alexander (19), UF 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 Yvette Hyndman (60), UG d. Csilla Borsanyi (79), UF 4-6, 6-1, 6-3*
No. 4 Nina Suvak, UF d. Darya Ivanov (42), UG 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 Anastasia Revzina, UF d. Kelly Hyndman, UG 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 Whitney Benik, UF d. Naoko Ueshima, UG 6-0, 4-6, 6-4
Order of Finish: Doubles 1, 2, 3*; Singles 4, 2, 1, 3*, 5, 6
END OF REPORT
