Florida Gators
#16 South Carolina - SEC Tournament Semifinals
Women's Tennis Marches into SEC Tournament Final, Blanks South Carolina, 4-0
Sunday, April 25, 2010 | Women's Tennis
Top-seeded Florida blanked fifth-seeded South Carolina, 4-0, on Saturday and advanced to the final of the Southeastern Conference Women's Tennis Tournament held at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts on the campus of the University of Georgia.
The Gators (23-2), who won their 16th consecutive dual match, marched in the league's postseason tournament final for the 21st time in the event's 23rd year.
Florida plays third-seeded Tennessee (16-7), which defeated second-seeded Ole Miss (15-5), 4-3, in the other semifinal match. Sunday's championship bout is scheduled to begin at noon.
The Gators won the regular-season matchup against the Lady Vols, 6-1, in Knoxville on April 9. UF leads the all-time series 34-0, including a 5-0 record in SEC Tournament action.
The Gators have won 15 of the 22 SEC Tournament titles (1982, '90, '91, '92, '93, '95, '96, '97, '98, '00, '02, '03, '04, '05 & '06), but have experienced a three-year drought, falling in each of the last three years to Georgia.
Inclimate weather forced the matches indoors, where the format of both semifinals were altered and began with singles play for the top four positions.
Florida needed only the outcome of those four matches to clinch the victory, as freshmen Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) and seniors Marrit Boonstra (The Netherlands) and Anastasia Revzina (Moscow, Russia) won their respective matches in straight sets.
“I thought we looked really good. South Carolina's a really good team. Our first set scores were close, but our second-set scorers were '0s' and '1s',” said UF head coach Roland Thornqvist, who has guided the Gators to five SEC Tournament titles in his eight years. “I thought we were physically tougher and mentally better. I'm really proud of our players for the way they handled a tough team. We were ready.”
Boonstra was the first off the singles court for the second straight day, posting a convincing 6-2, 6-0 win over Anya Morgina at the No. 3 spot. The 69-minute victory was Boonstra's 13th straight singles win. The match was on-serve through five games until the Gator senior broke in the sixth game en route to winning the final three of the set. She then stormed through the second set, ending the match winning the final nine games.
“I'm very focused and we all want to win here,” Boonstra said. “I think we all played our best tennis today.”
Embree followed seconds later with a 6-4, 6-1 victory against Ana Marija Zubori at the No. 1 position, also winning her 13th consecutive singles match. Neither competitor could hold for the first six games, then both held. Embree earned another break, with Zubori double-faulting on break-point, and served out for the opening set. The sensational Gator rookie then closed out the second, jumping out to a 5-0 lead and breaking Zubori one last time to take the victory and give Florida a 2-0 lead. The last time the two played each other the match was halted with Embree holding a 4-1 lead in the third set.
“The beginning was really close and we broke each other early and it went back and forth. I knew I had to hang in here and keep battling and hope she gave me some unforced errors and that's what she did,” Embree said. “She started making a few more unforced errors and I stuck to my game plan. It feels good to get off the court with a win.”
Thornqvist was impressive with his young star's play.
“Lauren had a chance to play out her match against a really good player. Lauren is so disciplined and mentally very, very tough. You have to play at a very high level for a very long time to have a chance to beat her,” Thornqvist shared.
Revzina got off to a slow start on court No. 4, falling behind 3-0, down a break, before settling in to take down Miljana Jocic 6-4, 6-0. The veteran Gator won the final nine games and 12 of the last 13 en route and posted her 94th career singles victory.
“The first three games, I was a little nervous playing indoors, playing in the SEC Tournament. I couldn't hit a ball in the court those first three games,” Revzina said. “Then I got my focus back. People were cheering and Dave (Balogh, UF associate head coach) helped me get back into the game. That first set was close, but I played my best in the second set.”
Will was in a battle at the No. 2 spot against Dijana Stojic, but turned up the heat and won the final seven games to earn the 6-4, 6-0 decision and win her 22nd consecutive singles match, the ninth-longest streak in program history. Will held a 5-1 lead in the first, when Stojic won the next three games to tighten the score. The Gator rookie finally closed out the opening frame with a backhand, cross-court short volley at the net. Will stormed out in the second to win convincingly and clinch the dual match that sent the Gators to the championship match.
“I really enjoyed it because my teammates were behind me the whole way. Seeing them smile really helped me get through the match. It was a really challenging day and I'm happy I got through it,” Will said. “I came out knowing it was going to be a tough match and I had to keep playing hard.”
The regular- season meeting between Florida and Tennessee was much closer than the 6-1 final might indicate. The Gators won a tightly contested doubles point, with UF's top team losing its lone SEC match and the No. 3 position coming through with a 9-7 win. Four of the six singles matches went to three sets, with Embree taking out 11th-ranked Caitlin Whoriskey, 6-4, 7-5 at the No. 1 court.
“Either team we play tomorrow is going to be the underdog so we know they'll be motivated to play their best tennis against us,” shared Thornqvist before knowing UF's final round opponent. “If we can play like we did today, we have a chance.”
SEC Women's Tennis Tournament Semifinal
No. 16 South Carolina vs. No. 3 Florida
Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts
Athens, Ga.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Final Score: Florida 4, South Carolina 0
Doubles
Not played
Singles
1. #11 Lauren Embree (UF) def. #48 Ana Marija Zubori (SC) 6-4, 6-1
2. #7 Allie Will (UF) def. #108 Dijana Stojic (SC) 6-4, 6-0
3. #75 Marrit Boonstra (UF) def. #125 Anya Morgina (SC) 6-2, 6-0
4. #119 Anastasia Revzina (UF) def. Miljana Jocic (SC) 6-4, 6-0
5. Joanna Mather (UF) led Adriana Pereira (SC) 2-1 DNF
6. Madel Saari-Bystrom (SC) led Caroline Hitimana (UF), 1-0 DNF
Order of Finish: Singles-1, 3, 4, 2*
Records: Florida 23-2; South Carolina 16-9
-UF-
