Gainesville, Fla. – The No. 2-ranked University of Florida women's tennis team made their 2015 debut in winning fashion, with a 4-0 sweep of Elon on opening day of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Gainesville on Saturday at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
The Gators worked efficiently, as they did not allow a single match to exceed one hour. No. 17 rookie tandem Josie Kuhlman and Peggy Porter went right to work to top Elon's Olivia Lucas and Taylor Casey, 6-2. No. 7 doubles team Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan earned a 6-1 victory in the No. 1 doubles position to clinch the doubles point and give the Orange & Blue an early 1-0 edge.
Each singles match was won in straight sets. No. 6 Austin took down Elon's Olivia Lucas, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 1 singles to set the tone in individual match play. From there it was a race to clinch, as every Gator led their respective singles match. No. 40-ranked Porter defeated Maria Camara at No. 4 singles, 6-1, 6-1, and less than a minute later, sophomore Stefani Stojic completed the 4-0 sweep with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Elon's Taylor Casey in the No. 6 spot.
Florida will face No. 68 Maryland in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend championship match tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. on the front courts for a chance to secure a berth at the ITA National Indoors event next month.
| 2015 University of Florida Women's Tennis |
| Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex |
| Gainesville, Florida |
| Saturday, January 24, 2015 |
| | | | | | |
| Doubles | FLORIDA | vs | Elon | Winner | | Score/match length |
| Brooke Austin (7) | | Maria Camara | | | |
| No. 1 - | Kourtney Keegan (7) | | Barbora Lazarova | *UF | | 6-1 (:35) |
| Josie Kuhlman (17) | | Olivia Lucas | | | |
| No. 2 - | Peggy Porter (17) | | Taylor Casey | UF | | 6-2 (:30) |
| Brianna Morgan | | Kamilla Beisenova | | | |
| No. 3 - | Spencer Liang | | Erica Braschi | DNF | | |
| | | | | | |
| Singles | FLORIDA | vs | Elon | Winner | | Score/match length |
| No. 1 - | Brooke Austin (6) | | Olivia Lucas | UF | | 6-0, 6-1 (:48) |
| No. 2 - | Brianna Morgan (11) | | Barbora Lazarova | DNF | | |
| No. 3 - | Belinda Woolcock (43) | | Erica Braschi | DNF | | |
| No. 4 - | Peggy Porter (40) | | Maria Camara | UF | | 6-1, 6-1 (:55) |
| No. 5 - | Spencer Liang | | Kamilla Beisenova | DNF | | |
| No. 6 - | Stefani Stojic | | Taylor Casey | *UF | | 6-0, 6-1 (:56) |
| | | | | | |
| FINAL SCORE: | Florida - 4 | | Elon - 0 | | | * Clinched victory |
| Records: | Florida 1-0 | | Elon 1-2 | | | |
| Order of Finish: | Doubles: 2,1 | | Singles: 1, 4, 6 | | | |
| Attendance: 117 | | | | | | |
Quotes from the Match
Thornqvist's Thoughts – Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the dominant victory over Elon…
I was very pleased with our four new players. They all looked comfortable. They, for the most part, played pretty well. It was a tough day to play. It was cold and windy and sometimes hard to play good tennis, but overall I was very pleased with today. Doubles looked sharp. We were very clinical in doubles and singles at the end of games, which in this format is crucial. If you look at the break downs I think we were very, very good on the no-ad points, so for the most part I was very pleased with it for the first match against an Elon team I think who is very young, but they make a million balls. I thought our players did very well.
On the team's strengths…
Doubles I think could be a strong point in our game and that has not been the case I don't think for the last few years. We've been sort of behind the eight ball a little bit in doubles, so with this crew I think we have a chance to be an excellent doubles team because we have a lot of ball strikers on this team. Generally, the Florida team that I've had here has been comprised of good athletes who can roll and defend very well. This team seems to be a little bit more of a hitting team.
On preparation for playing back-to-back match days…
We've done enough fitness and we've had enough back-to-back tough practices where physically it's not going to be an issue. I think everybody's excited to play. It's January 20-something here and our men have played three or four matches already and today was our first, so I know that our players were chomping at the bit to play. I think they'll be excited to play. I saw a little bit of the Maryland team and they're here to win the tournament so we're going to have to certainly play better and with a little bit more emotion tomorrow because they're going to come to beat us.
Freshman Brooke Austin
On her analysis of her first collegiate dual match performance…
I think I did really well. I think I handled my nerves really well. At the beginning it was different because we have different rules this year so it was weird for me not having a warm-up at the beginning of the match, it was weird just going out and playing. But I think after the first couple games I sort of let go of the nerves and I played really well.
On the team's confidence and dynamic…
We all get along really well. We like hanging out with each other. I think it's going to be a good year just because we all get along.
On what she can personally improve on…
In tennis there's always stuff you need to work on. You never have a perfect match. I think my serve has gotten a lot better but I still need to improve my serve. I think my ground strokes were good today and my return was good so really, based off today, just my serve. But every day is different.
Numbers of Note
Keep the Streak:
Florida (10-0 at home in 2014) has won 135 consecutive regular season home matches – not including SEC Tournament or NCAA Championship events. The current streak is the longest of its kind in program history, passing the 71 in a row between 1994 and 2001. Additionally, UF boasts an overall program-record home winning streak of 134 matches, including 22 postseason victories. The streak is the longest active home win streak of any NCAA Division I women's team in any sport and the second-longest active home win streak on any NCAA Division I team behind the NCAA-record run by the Ohio State men's tennis team of 191.
Win the Day:
The Gators improved to 40-3 all time in season-opening dual matches with the 4-0 win over Elon. They've won 31 consecutive season openers.
Home is Where We Win:
Florida boasts an incredible 469-25 all-time home record when playing in Gainesville.
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