Florida Gators
#18 South Carolina
Women's Tennis defeats South Carolina to Close SEC Regular Season Perfect
Saturday, April 17, 2010 | Women's Tennis
The third-ranked University of Florida women's tennis team battled past a tough 18th-ranked South Carolina squad, 4-0, on a very windy afternoon at the Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center in the regular-season finale for both teams.
The Gators (21-2, 11-0 SEC) secured the Southeastern Conference Overall Championship last week and won their 14th consecutive dual match on Saturday, resulting in the 18th undefeated league record in program history.
“We battled a really feisty South Carolina team in very windy conditions with pollen blowing everywhere and our players did a marvelous job staying focused and did a fantastic job handling the ups and downs during the course of the match,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “To finish 11-0 in our league is something to cherish because our league is second to none.”
Florida won the doubles point with victories on the No. 2 and No. 3 courts, before Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.), Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Marrit Boonstra (The Netherlands) notched singles wins to capture the dual match win.
“Joanna led us today with a great win over a player who was 9-1 in the league entering today. Joanna won in straight sets and it certainly makes us a much better Gator tennis team when Joanna is playing like she did today,” Thornqvist praised.
Mather snapped a two-match slide with an impressive 6-3, 6-3 victory against Adriana Pereira and gave the Gators a 2-0 lead.
Will then won her 20th consecutive singles match with a 6-4, 6-1 decision over Dijana Stojic at the No. 2 position. The win streak by the rookie is tied for the 12th-longest in program history. The victory also marked her 40th singles win of the season, as she become only the 14th Gator to win as many in one year and the first since Alexis Gordon tallied 45 during the 2003 season. Will sports a team-best 40-3 overall singles record, including a 20-0 mark in dual match play, while finishing 10-0 in SEC action.
Boonstra then polished off Florida's perfect SEC season with a 6-4, 7-5 victory against Anya Morgina on court No. 3. The win was the Gator senior's 20th this year, as she improved to 18-1 in dual matches, 8-0 versus SEC foes.
Florida held the lead on the remaining three singles courts when play was halted after the Gators secured the dual match victory over the Gamecocks (14-7, 7-4 SEC).
All six of South Carolina's losses prior to Saturday had been by 4-3 decisions.
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 revealed Sunday morning.
Women's College Tennis
No. 3 Florida at No. 18 South Carolina
Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center
Columbia, S.C.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Final Score: Florida 4, South Carolina 0
Doubles
1. #18 Dijana Stojic/Ana Marija Zubori (SC) led #5 Marrit Boonstra/Allie Will (UF), 7-5 DNF
2. #71 Lauren Embree/Joanna Mather (UF) d. Miljana Jocic/Rita Maisak (SC), 8-2*
3. Caroline Hitimana/Anastasia Revzina (UF) d. Adriana Pereira/Madeleine Saari-Bystrom (SC), 8-3
Singles
1. #10 Lauren Embree (UF) led #53 Ana Marija Zubori (SC), 5-7, 6-1, 4-1 DNF
2. #7 Allie Will (UF) d. #93 Dijana Stojic (SC) 6-4, 6-1
3. #75 Marrit Boonstra (UF) vs. d. #110 Anya Morgina (SC), 6-4, 7-5*
4. #116 Anastasia Revzina (UF) led Miljana Jocic (SC) 6-4, 3-2 DNF
5. Joanna Mather (UF) d. Adriana Pereira (SC), 6-3, 6-3
6. Caroline Hitimana (UF) led Madeleine Saari-Bystrorm (SC), 1-6, 6-3, 3-0 DNF
Order of Finish: Doubles-3, 2*; Singles-5, 2, 3*
Records: Florida 20-2, 10-0 SEC; South Carolina 14-6, 7-3 SEC
-UF-
