Women's Tennis Plays at South Carolina Saturday in Regular-Season Finale
Friday, April 16, 2010 | Women's Tennis
The third-ranked University of Florida women's tennis team will aim to cap a perfect record in Southeastern Conference matches when it travels to Columbia, S.C., on Saturday to battle No. 18 South Carolina in the regular-season finale for both teams.
The Gators (20-2, 10-0 SEC) secured the SEC Overall Championship last week and are focused on winning their 14th consecutive dual match, which would produce the 18th undefeated league record in program history.
Florida sports a 32-2 all-time record against South Carolina (14-6, 7-3 SEC), including a 13-1 record in Columbia. The Gators won last year's 4-2 meeting that extended their win streak over the Gamecocks to 29.
“South Carolina is a very talented team and we have to be prepared for them,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “If were not ready, we could be in for a real surprise and that's my job as their coach to make sure that doesn't happen.”
Freshmen Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) have led Florida atop the singles lineup all season, with Embree compiling a 15-3 record at the No. 1 position, including a 9-0 record against SEC opponents. She enters Saturday's match riding a 12-match winning streak. Will plays the No. 2 spot and sports a 19-match win streak, having compiled a 19-0 dual match record, with one of those victories coming at the No. 1 position. Will carries a 39-3 overall singles record into Saturday's contest at South Carolina.
Seniors Marrit Boonstra (The Netherlands) and Anastasia Revzina (Moscow, Russia) have provided outstanding leadership, as well as impressive results on the court, where they play the No. 3 and 4 positions, respectively, and are a combined 34-3 in dual match action.
Florida has already clinched the No. 1 seed for next week's SEC Tournament that will be held April 22-25 in Athens, Ga. The Gators earned one of the four first-round byes in the 12-team event and will begin action on Friday, April 23. The draw for the league's postseason tournament will be revealed soon.
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