Gators Travel to Virginia for National Indoors
Thursday, February 5, 2015 | Women's Tennis
Gainesville, Fla. – The No. 2-ranked University of Florida women's tennis team need not worry about weathering the winter elements this weekend as they head indoors for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship at the Boar's Head Tennis Club in Charlottesville, Va., on Friday, Feb. 6 through Monday, Feb. 9.
The complete main draw was released earlier this week. No. 2-seeded Florida is slated to take on No. 13-ranked Clemson in the first round of the event.
Florida is a perfect 22-0 against Clemson, including a 6-0 mark in neutral territory (1-0 at National Indoors).
The Gators remain undefeated through three matches played, with its most recent victory occurring last Wednesday in Gainesville versus No. 53 USF. Florida completed a 7-0 sweep, winning the doubles point and earning victories at all six singles positions. Junior No. 11-ranked Brianna Morgan picked up her 70th career overall singles win when she defeated the Bulls' Olga Martinez, 6-0, 6-7 (7), 10-3. Freshman Josie Kuhlman, ranked No. 9 in the country, tabbed her first career dual match singles win when she topped Vera Bessonova at the No. 2 position, 6-2, 6-0.
Thornqvist's Thoughts – Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the mindset of the team entering the tournament…
Well, anytime we enter a tournament I think we go in to win it. That being said, I think with four new players it's a tremendous opportunity for them to see what the best teams in the country look like and what it feels like to play in a national championship event. No matter what the outcome, wins and losses here, we're going to gain valuable experience for our first years and that's going to be great for us down the road.
On the team's performance through the first three matches…
I think we're playing pretty good tennis. I think we're actually built better for indoor tennis this year than we were last year and it's going to be interesting to see if we get paid by hitting the ball bigger. I really feel like we're hitting the ball bigger this year and if that makes a difference from a winning and losing standpoint, it's going to be interesting to see. We're fairly healthy and we've got Kourtney [Keegan] back and I'm excited to see them play. I'm excited to see how they do under pressure against highly ranked teams.
On the advantage the newcomers have heading into the tournament having faced ranked players in the fall…
I do, but still when you start scoring on a team basis it's completely different. It just changes everything, really, when the pressure cooker really heats up and there's yelling and screaming and all of a sudden it's 2-2 and there's three matches still going on in the third set. It's nothing like an individual event so this will be the first time they're all in that situation and it's going to be really interesting to see how we handle it.
Last Time:
The last meeting between the Gators and the Tigers occurred on Feb. 22, 2013 in Gainesville. The home team took down the visiting Tigers, 6-1.
Florida at Indoors By the Numbers:
The Gators are 46-12 overall in National Indoor matches. Florida has won six National Indoor Team Championships, including the inaugural title in 1988. They've made 11 final appearances and have won 47 National Indoor matches in the 27 years of the event.
#2 Florida vs. #13 Clemson
Friday, Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m.
Boar's Head Tennis Club
Tournament Hub Page: http://www.itatennis.com/Events/ITANationalChampionships/DIWomensTeamIndoors.htm
Live Stats: http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/w-tennis/spec-rel/2015indoors.html
Notes: http://www.gatorzone.com/tennis/women/stats/notes/pre/20150206183000.pdf
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