Top-Seed Florida W-Tennis Plays LSU in SEC Tournament Quarterfinal
Thursday, April 22, 2010 | Women's Tennis
The top-seeded and third-ranked University of Florida women's tennis team will face No. 8-seeded LSU on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament at Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Center.
The Lady Tigers (10-14) defeated No. 9-seeded Alabama, 4-2, in Thursday's first-round match.
Florida (21-2), which earned one of four first-round byes, has won 14 consecutive matches entering the league's postseason event, is 22-0 all-time in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament.
Florida is 35-1 all-time against LSU, including a 4-0 record in SEC Tournament action. Florida avenged its lone loss to the Tigers that came last season by earning an impressive 7-0 win in Gainesville this year.
“We've always looked at the SEC Tournament as a very important event because it's the only time you get to play on consecutive days before the NCAA Tournament,” said UF head coach Roland Thornqvist, who has guided the Gators to five SEC Tournament titles in his eight years at the event.
“Physically, we're about as good as we've been all year,” Thornqvist continued. “Even though we're playing well, there are still many areas where we can improve. Hopefully, we'll get the chance to play back-to-back matches and have a chance to work on those things and see what we need to do to be perfectly ready for the NCAAs.”
The Gators have won 15 of the 22 SEC Tournament titles contested, however, their last championship came in 2006. Georgia, the host of the 2010 SEC Tournament, is the three-time defending champion and has defeated Florida during each of those title runs.
“The past three years we lost in this even to Georgia, not as surprisingly last year when we were clearly the underdog, especially playing indoors,” Thornqvist said. “We felt we competed hard and we were ok with the result by compared to how we felt the previous two years when we weren't necessarily the underdog.”
The Gators clinched the SEC overall title with its 6-1 victory against Georgia in Athens on April 11.
“We played very, very well the last time we played in Athens and we're looking forward to playing well again during this tournament,” Thornqvist said. “This year, we're going into the tournament on a high note.”
The Gators have won the doubles point 22 times in 23 dual matches this season, helping Florida race out to a quick lead in the team scoring.
LSU lost the doubles point against Alabama in Thursday's SEC opening round match, but rallied with singles victories on courts No. 1, 4, 5 and 6.
Florida's lineup is solid from top to bottom, with a pair of freshmen swinging atop the singles lineup and the Gators' two seniors anchoring the middle positions.
For only the third time in program history, the Gators kicked off a dual match season with freshmen in both the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Freshmen Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) have played the top two spots in every dual match.
Embree is the second true freshman to start at the No. 1 singles position - where she has played every dual match this year - since 1994. Entering the SEC Tournament, Embree sports an overall singles record of 27-5 and a 29-5 doubles record. Embree is 15-3 in dual match singles action, with all coming at the No. 1 position. She also sports a 17-2 dual match doubles record, including a 9-1 record in SEC matches, all at the No. 2 spot.
In the regular-season finale at South Carolina, Will 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 tied for the 12th-longest in program history. The victory also marked her 40th singles win of the season, marking the 14th time a Gator has won as many in one year; and the first since Alexis Gordon tallied 45 victories during the 2003 season.
Not to be outdone by their younger teammates, seniors Marrit Boonstra (The Netherlands) and Anastasia Revzina (Moscow, Russia) have put up impressive numbers during their respective collegiate careers. Entering the SEC Tournament, Boonstra sports a career 71-16 singles record, with a 54-8 mark in dual matches. Revzina has amassed a 93-25 career singles record, including a 68-12 all-time dual match ledger. On the doubles court, Revzina is 91-23 all-time, while Boonstra is 69-20. Revzina's combined 184 singles and doubles victories rank No. 21 all-time in Gator history.
SEC Tournament Information - QF
What: #1 Seed Florida in the Quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament
When: Fri., April 23, 2010 * 10 a.m. ET
Quarterfinal: vs. #8 Seed LSU (10-14)
Where: Athens, Ga.
Facility: Dan Magill Tennis Complex (McWhorter Courts)
Web Site (live scoring & video): www.georgiadogs.com
Television Coverage: Tournament wrap-up will air on the April 28 episode of SEC Weekly (ESPNU @ 5 pm ET)
Post-Match Feed: via FTP server - Championship match only: https://sig-prod.xosdigital.com/signiant_media_exchange/
Username: SEC_womenstennis Password: SEC_champs
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