Florida Ready to Keep Home Winning Streak Alive Against Stanford
Sunday, February 22, 2015 | Women's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 2 Florida Gators will put their historic home winning streak on the line for the second time this weekend, when they host undefeated No. 10 Stanford on Sunday, Feb. 22 at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex at noon.
The Gators are 3-3 in Gainesville against the Cardinal, but Stanford leads the all-time series, 13-19. Florida hopes to edge Stanford in the all-time record at Linder Stadium, as well as protect its longstanding home winning streak, which the Gators extended to 137 straight wins with a 4-0 sweep of No. 16 Duke Friday evening.
The deceivingly easy 4-0 shutout of the Blue Devils featured plenty of battles and close matches, as sophomore No. 27-ranked Belinda Woolcock was put to the test in earning the straight set No. 4 singles victory to clinch the win for the Gators. Woolcock fell behind in the first set and allowed her opponent, Duke's No. 94-ranked Rachel Kahan, to close in on Woolcock's 5-1 advantage in the second before the Melbourne, Australia, native rallied to capture a 6-4, 7-5 win.
The Gators improved to 6-0 when winning the doubles point, as No. 4-ranked Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan won at No. 1 singles to clinch the doubles point, while Spencer Liang and Woolcock earned an 8-3 decision at the No. 3 spot.
Thornqvist's Thoughts – Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On what the team can take away from win over Duke and preparing for Stanford…
[Our team] should be very confident because we played very well today against a really good Duke team. And that match on Sunday [against Stanford] is why you come to play college tennis. A regular season match, Florida versus Stanford, that's as good as it gets. If we have a larger crowd and if it helps us, I think we'll play with the wind in our sails and we're going to need that because Stanford is very talented and they're undefeated. Every time we play them it comes down to the wire and I expect no different for the match on Sunday.
Last Time:
Last season, Florida dropped a 7-0 decision to Stanford in California on Feb. 23, 2014.
137 and Counting:
Florida extended its overall program-record home winning streak to 137 after the 4-0 sweep of No. 16 Duke. 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 201st consecutive home win.
Home Sweet Home:
Florida boasts an impressive 472-25 all-time home record in Gainesville.
Woolcock is Clutch:
Sophomore Belinda Woolcock has clinched two matches this season for the Gators in dramatic fashion. Most recently, Woolcock came back from a 2-1 deficit in the first set and a rally by Duke's No. 94 Rachel Kahan in the second to secure a 4-0 shutout victory over the Blue Devils in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5. In the first round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, Woolcock was the last singles competitor standing for UF versus No. 13 Clemson, and allowed the Tigers' Tristen Dewar to encroach on her 6-3 third set tiebreak lead in the match-deciding singles duel, yet maintained composure to lift her team to a 4-3 victory.
Big Things From Brooke:
No. 6-ranked freshman Brooke Austin remains undefeated (5-0) in dual match singles at the No. 1 spot for UF. 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.
Going the Distance in Doubles:
The Gators are 6-0 in dual matches when winning the doubles point this season. The No. 1 Florida tandem, No. 4-ranked Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan, is undefeated in dual match doubles action and has topped two ranked duos.
PROMOTIONS:
Alligator Pen Giveaway – First 200 fans in attendance will receive a FREE Alligator Pen
Enter to Win Gymnastics Tickets – Fans can enter to win two tickets to the Florida Gymnastics Link to Pink meet versus Kentucky on Feb. 27
Selfie Sunday – Tweet photos of yourself at the match and use the hashtag #GameSetMatchUF. The fan with the most spirited photo using the hashtag throughout the match will receive a FREE Florida tennis prize pack
Rowdy Reptile Check-In & Prize Pick-Up – Students can check in for four points from 12-1 p.m. and pick up unlocked prizes
Guess the Aces – Guess the number of aces the Gators will get in doubles before the match begins. The fan with the correct guess or closest to the correct number will win free Chik-Fil-A! The winner will be announced between doubles and singles
#2 Florida (7-1) vs. #10 Stanford (7-0)
Sunday, Feb. 22 at 12:00 p.m.
Scott Linder Stadium at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex
Live Stats: http://www.gatorzone.com/tennis/live/?sport=tennw&live_match=12457
Notes: http://www.gatorzone.com/tennis/women/stats/notes/pre/20150222120000.pdf
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