Florida Opens Conference Play with Reigning SEC Champion Alabama
Thursday, February 26, 2015 | Women's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 3 Florida Gators dive right into tough Southeastern Conference competition, when they host the reigning SEC Champion, No. 9 Alabama, on Friday, Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex in their annual pink match in an effort to raise awareness of the battle against breast cancer.
The Gators hold a significant lead in the all-time series with the Crimson Tide, 38-1, including a 17-0 record at home. However, Alabama came out on top, 4-3, in the most recent meeting between the two teams on March 23, 2014.
Florida is coming off a 4-3 victory over No. 10 Stanford. After dropping the doubles point for just the second time this season, the Gators rallied in singles and junior No. 13 Brianna Morgan clinched the match with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Stanford's No. 16 Caroline Doyle.
UF opens their conference schedule on Friday and continues SEC action on Sunday, March 1 with No. 30 Auburn in Gainesville before hitting the road for their next four matches.
Thornqvist's Thoughts – Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On opening the conference schedule…
I like where we are. Now we're starting the SEC slate with the reigning SEC Champion coming up on Friday [Alabama] and then Auburn, a vastly improved Auburn, so it doesn't get much easier for us. But this young team I think is ready for it. We're pretty healthy and we're looking forward to continuing on the path that we've set so far.
Last Time:
Last season, Florida fell to Alabama, 4-3, for the first time in program history. The Gators dropped the doubles point, managed to pick up singles wins at Nos. 1, 2 and 4, yet were unable to capture the victory.
138 and Counting:
After Sunday's 4-3 win against No. 10 Stanford, Florida extended its overall program-record home winning streak to 138 matches. 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 473-25 all-time home record in Gainesville.
Weekly Honors for Woolcock:
Sophomore Belinda Woolcock earned her first career weekly honor from the Southeastern Conference, as she was named SEC Player of the Week on Feb. 25.
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. 5-ranked Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan, has lost just one doubles match thus far this dual season, while the No. 3 pairing of Spencer Liang and Belinda Woolcock remains undefeated.
PROMOTIONS:
Pink Sunglasses Giveaway – First 300 fans in attendance will receive FREE pink Florida Tennis sunglasses
Rowdy Reptile Check-In – Students can check in for four points from 5-6 p.m.
#3 Florida (8-1) vs. #9 Alabama (8-1)
Friday, Feb. 27 at 5:00 p.m.
Scott Linder Stadium at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex
Live Stats: http://www.gatorzone.com/tennis/live/?sport=tennw&live_match=12458
Notes: http://www.gatorzone.com/tennis/women/stats/notes/pre/20150227170000.pdf
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