Florida Gators
#28 Ole Miss
No. 4 W-Tennis Takes Down No. 28 Ole Miss, 6-1
Sunday, March 28, 2010 | Women's Tennis
The University of Florida women's tennis team improved to 6-0 in Southeastern Conference play with a 6-1 victory over Ole Miss on Sunday at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
The match started with singles action due to the threat of inclement weather. The Gators (16-2, 6-0 SEC) earned wins at Nos. 1, 2, 5 and 6 singles to secure the team's 78th consecutive home win and improve to 164-1 all-time in Gainesville against Southeastern Conference opponents.
“We were reasonably sharp today. We played very well on Friday at Mississippi State, and I thought we had some stretches where we weren't as good today,” said head coach Roland Thornqvist. “Overall, I feel pretty good with where we are. We're improving, offensively in particular. I thought we were a good defensive team, singles wise, right off the bat in January, but we have steadily, gradually improved our offense and I think you can see that in our play now.”
Florida freshman Caroline Hitimana breezed past Gabriela Rangel, 6-0, 6-0, at the No. 6 position to earn the Gators' first point of the day. Fellow freshmen Allie Will and Lauren Embree won in straight sets atop the lineup to give UF a 3-0 lead.
Will split the first four games of her match with Karen Nijssen on court two, but won the final 10 games to win 6-2, 6-0. Embree swept the first set against Kristi Boxx at the No. 1 position, but fell behind 1-3 in the second set before rallying. She won the final five games to win 6-0, 6-3.
Sophomore Joanna Mather clinched the match on court five with a 6-2, 6-4 win over the Rebels' Laura van de Stroet.
“She's turned the corner,” said Thornqvist. “You can see her athleticism, and the level of athlete that she is, it really helps us. With her racquet speed and rotation on the ball, it's really difficult [to beat her].”
Ole Miss (9-4, 3-3 SEC) got on the board with a win at the No. 4 singles position, but that's the lone point the Lady Rebels would earn. Senior Marrit Boonstra won at the No. 3 position in the final singles match. After splitting the first two sets with Ole Miss' Abigail Guthrie, Boonstra held on to win the third set and the match 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
After clinching the match in singles play with five points, Florida also took the doubles point, winning on courts two and three. Florida's Hitimana and Mather teamed up to take down Connor Vogel and Rangel 8-3 at the No. 2 position, and Claire Bartlett teamed with Will to take down van de Stroet and Guthrie 8-4 at the third position to take the doubles point.
Boxx and Nijssen teamed up on court one to take down Florida's Embree and Anastasia Revzina 8-5 in the final doubles match.
The Gators return to action on Friday, when the team hosts No. 29 Vanderbilt. Florida will also host Kentucky on Sunday. Both matches are scheduled to start at 1 p.m. at Linder Stadium.
Women's College Tennis
No. 28 Ole Miss at No. 4 Florida
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, Fla.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Final Score: Florida 6, Ole Miss 1
DOUBLES
1. #12 Kristi Boxx/Karen Nijssen (MISS) def. #63 Lauren Embree/Anastasia Revzina (UF) 8-5
2. #39 Caroline Hitimana/Joanna Mather (UF) def. Connor Vogel/Gabriela Rangel (MISS) 8-3
3. Claire Bartlett/Allie Will (UF) def. Laura van de Stroet/Abigail Guthrie (MISS) 8-4
SINGLES
1. #17 Embree (UF) def. #57 Boxx (MISS) 6-0, 6-3
2. #9 Will (UF) def. Nijssen (MISS) 6-2, 6-0
3. #69 Marrit Boonstra (UF) def. Guthrie 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
4. Vogel (MISS) def. #122 Revzina (UF) 6-2, 6-3
5. Mather (UF) def. van de Stroet (MISS) 6-2, 6-4
6. Hitimana (UF) def. Rangel (MISS) 6-0, 6-0
Order of finish: DOUBLES – 2, 3*, 1; SINGLES – 6, 2, 1, 5*, 4, 3
Records: Florida 16-2, 6-0 SEC; Ole Miss 9-4, 3-3 SEC
-UF-
