Florida Gators
#14 Georgia
W-Tennis Captures SEC Regular-Season Title
Sunday, April 11, 2010 | Women's Tennis
The University of Florida women's tennis team defeated No. 14 Georgia and won the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship on Sunday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
The 6-1 victory over the Lady Bulldogs (11-5, 8-2 SEC) assured the fourth-ranked Gators (20-2, 10-0 SEC) the overall title for the 24th time in the 31 years the league has sponsored women's tennis. Florida's last SEC championship came in 2008, which marked the program's 17th time it has posted an undefeated league record (11-0).
The Gators' 24 SEC women's tennis titles are the most number of conference championships won by any other SEC women's program in any sport.
“We played super today,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “Winning the SEC Championship has been one of our goals all year. We'll take a few days and enjoy this, but we certainly won't let down because we have to play well on the road next week to close out the regular season. If we continue to play and compete the way we did today, we'll be a very tough team to beat.”
The Gators close out the regular season at No. 15 South Carolina on Saturday, before returning to Athens, Ga., for the SEC Tournament, April 22-25.
Florida began the day winning all three doubles matches to capture the doubles point for the 21st time in 22 tries, while Georgia dropped the initial team point for only the fifth time this year.
The Gator team of freshman Lauren Embree and Joanna Mather defeated Yvette Hyndman and Cameron Ellis, 8-5, on the No. 2 doubles court, before fifth-ranked Marrit Boonstra and Allie Will provided the clincher with an 8-6 victory against 10th-ranked Chelsey Gullickson and Nadja Gilchrist on the showcase court.
Florida road that momentum onto the singles court, where senior Anastasia Revzina (Moscow, Russia) set the tone quickly with a 6-0, 6-0 victory against Naoko Ueshima on court No. 4. It was Revzina's second double-bagel singles win this year.
“Anastasia's play was one of the highlights of the day,” Thornqvist shared. “She beat a player who has haunted us throughout the years and was able to do so in quick fashion to give us a 2-0 lead.”
Freshman Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) then produced her 19th consecutive singles victory, as she took down 29th-ranked Nadja Gilchrist, 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 2 position to give the Gators a 3-0 lead. Will improved to 39-3 in singles play this year, including a 19-0 dual match mark.
Will's fellow freshman Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) then provided the clinching dual match win with her impressive 7-5, 6-4 decision against 10th-ranked Chelsey Gullickson at the No. 1 spot. Embree's win was her 12th straight, as she won her 22nd versus a nationally-ranked opponent and improved to 27-5 overall this season.
“Overall, we had the best body language and composure on the court that we've had all year,” Thornqvist said. “We looked very professional and that was a big key and securing a tough victory. Not only winning the SEC championship, but the way we did it today was extraordinary.”
Freshman Caroline Hitimana (Waterloo, Belgium) defeated Lara Fakhoury, 6-0, 6-4, on court No. 6 to give Florida a 5-0 lead, before senior Marrit Boonstra (The Netherlands) captured a hard-fought 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Yvette Hyndman to stretch the Gators' advantage to 6-0.
Cameron Ellis prevented the shutout when she ended the dual match with a tough 7-6 (8-4), 3-6, 1-0 (10-8) decision against sophomore Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.) at the No. 5 position.
Women's College Tennis
No. 4 Florida at No. 14 Georgia
Dan Magill Tennis Complex
Athens, Ga.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Final Score: Florida 6, Georgia 1
Singles
1. #14 Lauren Embree (UF) def. #10 Chelsey Gullickson (UGA) 7-5, 6-4*
2. #9 Allie Will (UF) def. #29 Nadja Gilchrist (UGA) 6-3, 6-3
3. #79 Marrit Boonstra (UF) def. Yvette Hyndman (UGA) 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
4. Anastasia Revzina (UF) def. Naoko Ueshima (UGA) 6-0, 6-0
5. Cameron Ellis (UGA) def. Joanna Mather (UF) 7-6 (8-4), 3-6, 1-0 (10-8)
6. Caroline Hitimana (UF) def. Lara Fakhoury (UGA) 6-0, 6-4
Doubles
1. #5 Marrit Boonstra/Allie Will (UF) def. #10 Chelsey Gullickson/Nadja Gilchrist (UGA) 8-6*
2. Lauren Embree/Joanna Mather (UF) def. Yvette Hyndman/Cameron Ellis (UGA) 8-5
3. Caroline Hitimana/Anastasia Revzina (UF) def. Naoko Ueshima/Lara Fakhoury (UGA) 8-3
Match Notes:
Florida (20-2, 10-0 SEC); National ranking #4
Georgia (12-6, 8-2 SEC); National ranking #14
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (4,2,1,6,3,5)
-UF-
