GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sophomore Belinda Woolcock battled back from a 2-1 deficit in the first set and held off Duke opponent Rachel Kahan in the second set to clinch a 4-0 win over No. 16 Duke and extend No. 2 Florida's winning streak at home to 137 matches on Friday evening at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
No. 27-ranked Woolcock displayed superior mental strength in her 6-4, 7-5 defeat of Kahan after falling behind in the first set and letting a 5-1 lead slip away in set two. Woolcock likened the win to her comeback victory at the ITA National Indoor Championship earlier in the season, when she allowed Clemson opponent Tristen Dewar to encroach on her 6-3 third set tiebreak lead in a match-deciding singles duel in the first round of the national event, yet maintained composure to lift her team to a 4-3 victory.
Duke's No. 1 singles player Beatrice Capra challenged Florida's No. 6-ranked Brooke Austin, going up 4-3 after Austin led early, but Austin fought off the Blue Devils' top competitor and turned the match around to win 7-5, 6-2. No. 44 Kourtney Keegan, coming off an outstanding match-clinching battle at No. 34 Florida State, started the wave of singles wins for the Gators with a straight-set victory on Court 5 over Alyssa Smith, 6-0, 6-2.
Florida set the tone early in doubles, a positive trend for the Gators as of late. Spencer Liang and Woolcock claimed an 8-3 win over Annie Mulholland and Samantha Harris. No. 4-ranked duo Keegan and Austin clinched the doubles point with an 8-3 victory versus Duke's top pairing, Ester Goldfeld and Alyssa Smith.
The Gators put the home winning streak on the line once again on Sunday, Feb. 22, when they host another top-ranked competitor, No. 10 Stanford, at noon at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
| 2015 University of Florida Women's Tennis |
| Scott Linder Stadium at Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex |
| Gainesville, Fla. |
| Friday, February 20, 2015 |
| | | | | | |
| Doubles | FLORIDA | vs | DUKE | Winner | | Score/match length |
| Brooke Austin (4) | | Ester Goldfeld | | | |
| No. 1 - | Kourtney Keegan (4) | | Alyssa Smith | UF* | | 8-4 (1:05) |
| Josie Kuhlman (9) | | Beatrice Capra | | | |
| No. 2 - | Peggy Porter (9) | | Rachel Kahan | DNF | | 6-4 DNF |
| Spencer Liang | | Annie Mulholland | | | |
| No. 3 - | Belinda Woolcock | | Samantha Harris | UF | | 8-3 (:51) |
| | | | | | |
| Singles | FLORIDA | vs | DUKE | Winner | | Score/match length |
| No. 1 - | Brooke Austin (6) | | Beatrice Capra | UF | | 7-5, 6-2 (2:05) |
| No. 2 - | Josie Kuhlman (3) | | Ester Goldfeld (38) | DNF | | 7-6 (4), 5-4 DNF |
| No. 3 - | Brianna Morgan (13) | | Samantha Harris (115) | DNF | | 4-6, 7-5 DNF |
| No. 4 - | Belinda Woolcock (27) | | Rachel Kahan (94) | UF* | | 6-4, 7-5 (2:21) |
| No. 5 - | Kourtney Keegan (44) | | Alyssa Smith | UF | | 6-0, 6-2 (1:20) |
| No. 6 - | Peggy Porter (91) | | Annie Mulholland | DNF | | 4-6, 6-2, 4-2 DNF |
| | | | | | |
| FINAL SCORE: | Florida – 4 | | Duke – 0 | | | * Clinched victory |
| Records: | Florida 7-1 | | Duke 4-4 | | | |
| Order of Finish: | Doubles: 3, 1* | | Singles: 5, 1, 4* | | | |
| Attendance: 167 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
Quotes from the Match
Thornqvist's Thoughts – Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
Opening statement…
We had another great day in doubles. We're executing very well. We have great courage on big points, so I'm very pleased with that. I think our players really feel it too. We're very confident when we go out on the court. And our No. 3 team was down 2-0 to start the match and won eight out of nine games. They were very, very good and talked really well. They made a couple adjustments that were key in that match and just ran with it, so overall doubles looks great.
Every time we play [Duke] we have great battles. Sets that go all the way and split set matches, and today was no different. I thought the level of tennis was really high. This was perhaps the best tennis I've seen from us as a group so far this year. I think this Duke team is really talented and Belinda [Woolcock] showed again some mental toughness, having a lead, losing it, then winning in the end just like at Indoors. And that's tough to train. She's just got that and we're very pleased. Overall I'm happy with our performance on every court today.
On the consistency from Brooke Austin at No. 1 singles…
She's playing really well and today she played one of the best players in college that I've ever seen in Beatrice Capra, a player we have the utmost respect for. She made it uncomfortable for Brooke. She put the ball in places where Brooke tried to put the ball away and it was hard to do, but Brooke kept coming and even if she missed one here or there she didn't let that affect her play. She continued to pursue her plan and ultimately I think it got to Capra a little bit, but Brooke's playing very well and very confidently.
Sophomore Belinda Woolcock
On maintaining mental toughness when falling behind in a match…
I was in a really good position in the second set. I think I was up 5-2 and I was feeling really good, but one of [Rachel Kahan's] strengths was that she wouldn't go away. She was a great fighter and a great competitor, so my responsibility was to keep my composure and I think I showed that really well in the Clemson match at Indoors, I just kept my composure. So yes, it was a bit frustrating when I lost a couple of really close points because we had such long rallies, but I just kept my composure and I kept fighting. I tried going to her weaknesses and tried coming into the net when I could, but in the end it was all about mental toughness and that's one thing I've been really working hard on in the last few weeks, so I was happy with that today.
137 and Counting:
Florida extended its overall program-record home winning streak of 137 with tonight's 4-0 sweep. The streak is the longest active home win streak of any NCAA DI women's team in any sport and second-longest of any NCAA DI team behind the NCAA-record run by the Ohio State men's tennis team, which recently recorded its 200th consecutive home win.
Florida vs. Duke:
Florida improved to 37-5 all-time versus Duke with tonight's victory. Additionally, the Gators are now 16-1 when facing the Blue Devils at home.
Home Sweet Home:
Florida boasts an impressive 472-25 all-time home record in Gainesville.
Big Things for Brooke:
Brooke Austin remains undefeated (5-0) in dual match singles at the No. 1 position this season. She's posted a singles point for the Gators in five of eight matches played and owns an 11-2 overall singles record versus ranked opponents.
FOLLOW THE GATORS:
Online
On Twitter
On Facebook
