Florida Gators
#9 Southern California (National Team Indoors)
Women?s Tennis Drops Another 4-3 Decision in Loss to No. 9 Southern California
Saturday, February 14, 2009 | Women's Tennis
With just five players available, the 10th-ranked University of Florida women's tennis team nearly staged a remarkable upset, but fell just short in a 4-3 loss to No. 9 Southern California on Saturday in the consolation draw of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships held at Neilson Tennis Stadium.
The Gators (4-3) began play having to forfeit the No. 6 singles match and could not field a No. 3 doubles team, meaning Florida was already down 1-0 in the team scoring and needed to win both doubles matches to earn that point.
UF's unranked tandem of Jessica Alexander and Anastasia Revzina was able to get one doubles victory, upsetting USC's 53rd-ranked Maria Sanchez and Alison Ramos, 8-1. The newly paired duo of Marrit Boonstra and Joanna Mather, could do the same, falling on court No. 1 to 23rd-ranked Amanda Fink and Gabriela Niculescu, 8-1
Trailing 2-0 at the start of singles play, the Gators showed their toughness and fight, as Revzina, ranked No. 99 in the country, upset No. 22 Maria Sanchez, 7-5, 6-2 at the No. 2 position. Marrit Boonstra then captured her No. 1 singles match with a solid 6-2, 6-4 victory over Sarah Fansler on court No. 1 that pulled the team scoring even at 2-all.
Alexander, a freshman who enrolled at UF in January, stunned 67th-ranked Gabriela Niculescu, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on court No. 4 to win her first match against a nationally-ranked opponent and gave the Gators a 3-2 lead.
Gator freshman Barbara Pinterova battled USC's 36th-ranked Alison Ramos at the No. 5 spot, but couldn't quite pull the upset and lost, 6-1, 6-2.
The clinching match came down to court No. 3, where Mather, a freshman, was battling USC senior Amanda Fink, ranked 16th in the country and an NCAA Singles Championships semifinalist. Fink dominated the opening set, but the Gator rookie battled and won the second set before Fink's experience showed and she claimed the deciding match, 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-0.
“I have never been more proud of a team than I am today,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “We fought harder and battled every point and never gave Southern California an easy match. We had fantastic individual performances and pulled some big upsets on the court. It would have been very understandable for our team to put their heads down under the circumstance, but it only fired them up more. It's tough to lose three straight 4-3 matches, but we have learned and improved so much over these last two matches that it's really hard to believe. We are so much stronger, mentally and physically, than we were even a month ago. Joanna did everything she could on the court in the clinching match, she just faced an unbelievable player in Amanda Fink, who stepped up her game and let her experience take over at the end.”
The four-day event hosted by the University of Wisconsin in Madison continues Sunday, when the Gators face No. 13 Fresno State beginning at 10 a.m. ET (9 a.m. CT).
ITA National Team Indoor Championships, Consolation
Neilson Tennis Stadium, Madison, Wis.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Final Score: Southern California 4, Florida 3
Doubles
1. Amanda Fink/Gabriela Niculescu (31), USC d. Joanna Mather /Marrit Boonstra, UF 8-1
2. Jessica Alexander/Anastasia Revzina, UF d. Maria Sanchez/Alison Ramos (53), USC, 8-1
3. walkover for USC
Singles
1. Marrit Boonstra (34), UF d. Sarah Fansler (38), USC 6-2, 6-4
2. Anastasia Revzina (99), UF d. Maria Sanchez (22), USC 7-5, 6-2
3. Amanda Fink (16), USC d. Joanna Mather, UF 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-0*
4. Jessica Alexander, UF d. Gabriela Niculescu (67), USC 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
5. Alison Ramos (36), USC d. Barbara Pinterova, UF 6-2, 6-4
6. walkover for USC
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 1, 4, 5, 3*
-UF-
