Florida Gators
#53 USF
Florida Takes Down South Florida, 7-0
Thursday, January 29, 2015 | Women's Tennis
Gainesville, Fla. – In their third consecutive match sweep, No. 2 Florida took down No. 53 South Florida, 7-0, on Wednesday afternoon at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
Florida improved to 52-1 versus South Florida, including a perfect 31-0 mark in Gainesville.
No. 7-ranked doubles pairing Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan clinched the doubles point for Florida for the third-straight match with a 6-1 win over Olaya Garrido-Rivas and Jessica Cortes-Chaves at No. 1 doubles. No. 25 Brianna Morgan and Belinda Woolcock paved the way with a 6-1 victory over Alicia Robinson and Juliana Cardosa at No. 3 and tabbed their first doubles win of the season.
No. 9-ranked freshman Josie Kuhlman earned her first collegiate singles victory with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Vera Bessonova at the No. 2 position and sparked a wave of singles wins for the Gators. Within minutes of Kuhlman's victory, No. 43 sophomore Belinda Woolcock topped the Bulls' Cortes-Chaves, 6-1, 6-1, on the neighboring court. No. 4. Sophomore Spencer Liang clinched her first match as a Gator with a straight-set 6-2, 6-1 victory over South Florida's No. 6, Robinson.
The final three matches displayed the team's tenacity, as each Gator had to overcome tough circumstances to claim their win. No. 40-ranked freshman Peggy Porter fell behind, 4-1, in the first set, but managed to defeat Cardosa in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. No. 9 Brooke Austin and No. 11 Brianna Morgan both eased through their first sets, but dropped the second to their respective opponents in set tiebreakers after holding significant leads in set two. However, both Gators turned it around and emerged victorious in their individual super tiebreakers.
The Gators' next match will occur at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, which opens Friday, Feb. 6 in Charlottesville, Va.
| 2015 University of Florida Women's Tennis | ||||||
| Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex | ||||||
| Gainesville, Florida | ||||||
| Wednesday, January 28, 2015 | ||||||
| Doubles | FLORIDA | vs | USF | Winner |
| Score/match length |
| Brooke Austin (7) | Olaya Garrido-Rivas | |||||
| No. 1 - | Kourtney Keegan (7) | Jessica Cortes-Chaves | *UF | 6-1 (:27) | ||
| Josie Kuhlman (17) | Vera Bessonova | |||||
| No. 2 - | Peggy Porter (17) | Olga Martinez | DNF | |||
| Brianna Morgan (25) | Alicia Robinson | |||||
| No. 3 - | Belinda Woolcock (25) | Juliana Cardoso | UF | 6-1 (:25) | ||
| Singles | FLORIDA | vs | USF | Winner |
| Score/match length |
| No. 1 - | Brooke Austin (6) | Olaya Garrido-Rivas | UF | 6-1, 6-7 (5), 10-3 (1:25) | ||
| No. 2 - | Josie Kuhlman (9) | Vera Bessonova | UF | 6-2, 6-0 (:57) | ||
| No. 3 - | Brianna Morgan (11) | Olga Martinez | UF | 6-0, 6-7 (7), 10-3 (1:42) | ||
| No. 4 - | Belinda Woolcock (43) | Jessica Cortes-Chaves | UF | 6-1, 6-1 (1:05) | ||
| No. 5 - | Peggy Porter (40) | Juliana Cardosa | UF | 6-4, 6-2 (1:10) | ||
| No. 6 - | Spencer Liang | Alicia Robinson | *UF | 6-2, 6-1 (1:07) | ||
| FINAL SCORE: | Florida - 7 | USF - 0 | * Clinched victory | |||
| Records: | Florida 3-0 | USF 1-3 | ||||
| Order of Finish: | Doubles: 3, 1 | Singles: 2, 4, 6, 5, 1, 3 | ||||
| Attendance: 201 | ||||||
Quotes from the Match
Thornqvist's Thoughts – Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On initial analysis of the win…
I thought we did great. We played very well in doubles. I was particularly interested in our No. 3 doubles and how we started the match and they were pretty much flawless the first 10 minutes, so they certainly set the tone. So the doubles play I'm very happy with. There are obviously some things there we can get better at in our return game in particular but overall I think we're playing with great poise. We're very aggressive when we have the opportunity and those are sort of the things that we're looking for. And then in singles I was impressed by South Florida. I thought they had great competitors, good athletes and great competitors. They found a way to make it difficult for us at No. 1 and No. 3, clearly.
On the display of resilience in today's match…
Brianna [Morgan] being up big and she lost the lead, but was able to win the match. Obviously no one wants to lose a lead, but at the same time she showed great resolve in winning that super tiebreaker. Most players when they lose the lead that she had will not win the super tiebreaker, so I choose to see it from a positive there. I thought the tennis was great. The South Florida player played at a very high level and so I was really happy to see Bri buckle down and get it done. The same thing with Brooke [Austin], really. I think Brooke's hitting the ball well and her player made the ball come back. Brooke had to hit a couple more balls than she's used to, maybe, and she was really able to do a good job in the super tiebreaker to continue to execute and trust her shots.
Freshman Josie Kuhlman
On her first complete singles match as a Gator…
I was really happy with the way I played today. Doubles was good. Peggy [Porter] and I played well. Obviously we didn't get to finish, but it was good. Going into singles I was really happy with the way I played. I thought I was aggressive, back to playing how I like to play. The first time playing singles [last Sunday] I was expecting to be nervous. I think it showed a little bit. I was tight, I wasn't swinging like I normally do. But today I didn't feel nervous as much and I was definitely playing like I'm used to playing and it just felt good to be out there playing for the Gators.
Numbers of Note
Stellar vs. South Florida at Home:
With today's victory, Florida remains undefeated versus South Florida when playing in Gainesville (31-0). The Gators hold an overall 52-1 record against the Bulls.
Sunshine Streak:
Florida owns an impressive 199-33 record against in-state opponents and has now reeled off 21 straight wins versus teams from the Sunshine State.
Benchmark for Bri:
With Brianna Morgan's singles win today, she now has 70 overall career singles wins.
Another Freshman First:
Freshman Josie Kuhlman picked up the first singles win of her career and the first singles win of the match with her 6-2, 6-0 victory at the No. 2 position.
Keep the Streak:
Florida has won 137 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 136 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.
Home is Where We Win:
Florida boasts an incredible 471-25 all-time home record when playing in Gainesville, including a 176-2 mark under head coach Roland Thornqvist.
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