Florida Gators
#75 Alabama
No. 3 W-Tennis Wins SEC Regular-Season Title with Win at Alabama
Monday, April 7, 2008 | Women's Tennis
The third-ranked University of Florida women's tennis team captured the Southeastern Conference regular-season with a 7-0 shutout over Alabama on Sunday afternoon at the UA Varsity Courts.
The Gators had secured no worse than a tie for the league title on Friday, but Sunday's victory gave Florida the outright championship, marking the 23rd time in the 29-year history of the event that the Gators have taken the crown. The 23 SEC titles is the most won by any other SEC women's team in any sport.
“Winning a championship never, never gets old,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “I am so proud of our team and our effort all season long. We've faced a lot of injuries and adversity, but we kept our focus. Being able to sweep Alabama on its home court was a great way to secure the championship. We know there is still a lot more tennis remaining this season, but we will enjoy this year's title.”
Florida, which improved to 16-1 overall and 10-0 in SEC matches, closes out the regular season on Saturday, April 12, traveling to South Carolina in an attempt to produce an undefeated conference record for the 20th time.
Not only did Florida's two seniors help in winning their respective singles and doubles matches on Sunday, both recorded their 100th career doubles victories.
Whitney Benik paired with sophomore Csilla Borsanyi at the No. 1 doubles spot and earned the first victory of the dual match, blanking Andrea Brenes and Paulina Bigos, 8-0, as Benik became just the 11th Gator to reach the 100-win milestone in doubles, improving to 100-49.
The young Gator pair of freshman Julia Cohen and sophomore Anastasia Revzina then provided the clinching doubles-point win with their 8-3 decision over Bianca Svensson and Shelley Godwin on court No. 3, as the Florida duo moved to a perfect 14-0 in their matches together.
Senior Lolita Frangulyan and sophomore Megan Alexander netted an 8-7 (8-6) win over Meritt Emery and Tiffany Welcher to solidify the sweep and present Frangulyan with her 100th career doubles win, as her record stands at 100-28.
On the singles court, Florida's depth secured the dual match win early, with Frangulyan, Revzina and Benik tallying quick, straight-set wins at positions No. 6, 5 and 4, respectively.
The other three singles matches were hard-fought battles, but the Gators emerged with a win on each to cap the dual-match sweep, with Borsanyi, Cohen and Alexander adding to the team point total.
Women's College Tennis
No. 3 Florida at No. 75 Alabama
UA Varsity Courts * Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Final Score: Florida 7, Alabama 0
Doubles
1. Whitney Benik/Csilla Borsanyi, UF d. Andrea Brenes/Paulina Bigos, AL 8-0
2. Megan Alexander/Lolita Frangulyan, UF d. Meritt Emery/Tiffany Welcher, AL 8-7 (8-6)
3. (39) Julia Cohen/Anastasia Revzina, UF d. Bianca Svensson/Shelley Godwin, AL 8-3*
Singles
1. (27) Julia Cohen, UF d. Tiffany Welcher, AL 6-7, 6-4, 10-6
2. (32) Csilla Borsanyi, UF d. Paulina Bigos, AL, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
3. (106) Megan Alexander, UF d. Alice Tunaru, AL 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7)
4. (124) Whitney Benik, UF d. Meritt Emery, AL, 6-4, 6-3*
5. (95) Anastasia Revzina, UF d. Shelley Godwin, AL 6-4, 6-1
6. Lolita Frangulyan, UF d. Andrea Brenes, AL 6-0, 6-0
Order of Finish: Doubles-1, 3, 2; Singles-6, 5, 4, 2, 1, 3
*Clinched doubles/dual match point
END OF REPORT
