The ninth-ranked University of Florida women's tennis team swept defending NCAA champion and No. 6 Duke, 7-0, on Sunday evening at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. With the win, the Gators extended their program-record home win streak to 74.
“I think the team showed great character today,” said head coach Roland Thornqvist, who earned his 198th win in his nine years at UF. “I think we played fantastic on some courts and so-so on others, but we found a way to get back and play well at the end. That's tough to do on six singles courts and in doubles. I'm very, very proud of our team. I think it shows that losing at ITA Indoors actually helped us. We are a much tougher and stronger team than we were heading into Madison.”
The Gators got off to a strong start, when senior Marrit Boonstra (Groningen, The Netherlands) and freshman Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) needed just 50 minutes to defeat Duke's No. 1 pair of Ellah Nze and Amanda Granson, 8-3. Florida clinched the doubles point 10 minutes later with a win on court two, where freshman Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and senior Anastasia Revzina (Moscow, Russia) downed the 24th-ranked pair of Reka Zsilinszka and Elizabeth Plotkin, 8-4.
Sophomore Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.) and Caroline Hitimana (Waterloo, Belgium) did not finish their match against 28th-ranked Jessica Stiles and Monica Gorny, but were leading 3-1 and up 30-0 in the fifth game.
Tenth-ranked Will led the Gators to a 2-0 advantage with a win on court two, defeating 47th-ranked Plotkin, 6-1, 6-1. No. 22 Embree collected the second singles win for Florida, as she defeated No. 104 Nze in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
A little over 20 minutes later, Rezvina secured the victory in Florida's favor. No. 95 Revzina needed only two sets to defeat No. 60 Granson, 7-5, 6-4. Also winning her match in two-straight sets was sophomore Claire Bartlett (Chattanooga, Tenn.). Barlett downed Mary Clayton, 6-4, 7-5, to give Florida a 5-0 advantage.
After dropping her first set, 5-7, No. 86 Hitimana rallied back to win the second set 6-4 against No. 73 Gorny on court five. In a third-set 10-point tiebreaker, Hitimana fought for every point and was victorious over Gorny, 11-9.
No. 80 Boonstra was the final Gator to finish, also needing three sets. After dominating No. 34 Zsilinszka in the first set 6-0, Boonstra dropped a close second set, 7-6 (0). She rallied back to win the 10-point super-tiebreaker 10-7 and complete the sweep for the Gators.
Florida returns to action on Friday, when the Gators begin Southeastern Conference play against No. 20 Arkansas. The match is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. and admission is free.
Women's College Tennis
No. 6 Duke at No. 9 Florida
Linder Stadium at Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, Fla.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Final Score: Florida 7, Duke 0
Doubles
No. 1 (3) Marrit Boonstra/Allie Will (UF) d. Ellah Nze/Amanda Granson (Duke), 8-3
No. 2 Lauren Embree/Anastasia Revzina (UF) d. (24) Reka Zsilinszka/Elizabeth Plotkin (Duke), 8-4*
No. 3 Joanna Mather/Caroline Hitimana (UF) led (28) Jessica Stiles/Monica Gorny (Duke), 3-1 DNF
Singles
No. 1 (22) Lauren Embree (UF) def. (104) Ellah Nze (Duke), 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 (10) Allie Will (UF) def. (47) Elizabeth Plotkin (Duke), 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 (80) Marrit Boonstra (UF) def. (34) Reka Zsilinszka (Duke), 6-0, 6-7 (0), 10-7
No. 4 (95) Anastasia Revzina (UF) def. (60) Amanda Granson (Duke), 7-5, 6-4*
No. 5 (86) Caroline Hitimana (UF) def. (73) Monica Gorny (Duke), 5-7, 6-4, 11-9
No. 6 Claire Bartlett (UF) def. Mary Clayton (Duke), 6-4, 7-5
*Clinching doubles point/dual match win
Order of Finish: Doubles – 1, 2*; Singles – 2,1, 4*, 6, 5, 3
-UF-
