Florida Gators
#32 South Florida - NCAA Second Round
Women's Tennis Defeats South Florida in NCAA Second Round, 4-1
Sunday, May 13, 2007 | Women's Tennis
The University of Florida women's tennis team advanced to the NCAA Championship Round of 16 with a 4-1 victory over South Florida on Sunday afternoon at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
The final score was not indicative of how tight a dual match it was, as every match was closely contested before the Gators (23-2) emerged with their 42nd consecutive home victory and spot in the NCAA Round of 16 for the 24th time in the 26-year history of the event.
The No. 4-seeded Gators will face No. 13-seeded Baylor on Fri., May 18 beginning at 9 a.m. in Athens, Ga. The Bears defeated Texas A&M, 4-1, in their second round match.
“This was a really, really hard-fought match. I thought this was our toughest second round match since we lost in 2004," Florida head coach Roland Thornqvist said. "It's a good thing when you can survive a tough one. I don't think we necessarily played the best of matches, but we fought really hard and what it's going to take in this tournament to advance - toughness. I thought we showed that today, even when we didn't have the skill and that's worth a lot. I thought South Florida played really well. We got their best shot today. I'm just happy we were able to survive.”
With Florida holding a 3-1 lead, freshman Anastasia Revzina completed a second-set comeback to defeat Jessica Sweeting 6-2, 7-6 (2) at the No. 3 position and clinch the dual match. The Gator rookie found herself on the receiving end of a 5-2 deficit in the second set before rallying to force a tiebreak. Revzina and Sweeting exchanged mini-breaks before Sweeting held to take a 2-1 lead. That's when Revzina turned up her game and ripped off the final six points to seal her 14th consecutive singles win in two hours and 10 minutes and send the Gators to the Round of 16.
“(Jessica Sweeting) is definitely a good player," Revzina said. "She didn't want to lose and fought really hard throughout the match. Even when I was down 5-2, I stayed positive. I knew I would find a way to get it done.”
“Anastasia was in a similar spot in the SEC Tournament final," Thornqvist shared. "We lost (the dual match) before she had a chance to complete her match, but she was up 5-2 in the tiebreaker ready to force a third set. She has a great sense of space and great determination. For a 17-year-old to look like that is pretty remarkable. Our players are really starting to take a good look at how talented Anastasia is. She started out playing number five and six and has moved her way up the lineup for a reason."
Revzina was in the position to clinch the dual match after Nina Suvak and Whitney Benik won their respective matches at the No. 4 and No. 6 spots once Florida had claimed the doubles point.
Suvak, the Gators' lone senior, battled Liz Cruz for one hour and 41 minutes before ending her home career with a 6-3, 6-2 victory that gave Florida a 2-0 lead.
Benik appeared to be in complete control of her No. 6 match, but was forced to dig deep to earn a 6-4, 7-5 win over Iciri Rai to put the Gators one win from the dual match victory. Benik jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Rai found her game, breaking Benik's next two serves and later putting herself in position to even the opening frame at 5-all. But Benik fought off four break points to hold for the first set. She then opened the second with a break and held for a 2-0 lead. Rai got the set back on-serve with a break in the sixth game and holding in the next for a 4-3 lead. She then broke Benik and was serving for the set at 5-3 before the Gator junior regrouped and won the final four games, fighting off a couple more set points along the way, to take the straight-set decision.
“Whitney is a fighter. Sometimes she doesn't play great, but her willpower is amazing," Thornqvist said. "She will find a way to get it done. That's what happened today. She had to scrap back into the second set. She seems to rise under pressure."
South Florida won at the No. 2 singles spot at the two-hour mark, as Courtney Vernon just nipped Megan Alexander 6-4, 7-6 (12-10).
The Bulls provided the first win of the dual match, taking the 8-5 victory on the No. 2 doubles court. But Alexander and Revzina teamed at the No. 3 position and earned an 8-4 win over Cruz and Rai.
All attention then turned to court No. 1, where UF's Csilla Borsanyi and Diana Srebrovic battled Gabriela Duch and Jessica Sweeting, with the Gator pair taking the 8-5 win in one hour and five minutes, giving Florida the important doubles-point to begin the team scoring.
“It was very close. The doubles point and the singles points could have gone either way," USF head coach Agustin Moreno said. "Some points were tough, and they changed the momentum. We lost a couple of set points and they took advantage of that. They are very good. We've played them a few times and the match is always a fight. We're getting better, and we're close to getting a big win.”
The Bulls end their season with a 17-7 overall record highlighted by winning the Big East Tournament, giving South Florida its first-ever Big East title in any sport.
NCAA Women's Tennis Second Round
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, Fla.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Final Score: Florida 4, South Florida 1
Doubles
No. 1 Csilla Borsanyi/Diana Srebrovic (15), UF def. Gabriela Duch/Jessica Sweeting, USF 8-5*
No. 2 Shadisha Robinson/Courtney Vernon, USF def. Whitney Benik/Nina Suvak, UF 8-5
No. 3 Megan Alexander/Anastasia Revzina, UF def. Liz Cruz/Iciri Rai, USF 8-4
Singles
No. 1 Diana Srebrovic (23), UF vs. Shadisha Robinson (28), USF DNF
No. 2 Courtney Vernon (61), USF def. Megan Alexander (39), UF 6-4, 7-6 (12)
No. 3 Anastasia Revzina (92), UF def. Jessica Sweeting, USF 6-2, 7-6 (2)*
No. 4 Nina Suvak (122), UF def. Liz Cruz, USF 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 Csilla Borsanyi (58), UF vs. Gabriela Duch, USF DNF
No. 6 Whitney Benik, UF def. Iciri Rai, USF 6-4, 7-5
*clinching doubles/dual match point
Order of Finish: Doubles 2, 3, 1; Singles 4, 6, 2, 3
END OF REPORT
