CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – In one of the most remarkable comebacks in head coach Roland Thornqvist's tenure at Florida, the No. 2 Gators rallied from a 3-2 deficit to take down No. 13 Clemson, 4-3, and advance to the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship on Friday evening at the Boar's Head Sports Club.
For the first time this season, Florida dropped the doubles point and fell behind early. Clemson's No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams defeated No. 17 Josie Kuhlman and Peggy Porter and No. 25 Brianna Morgan and Belinda Woolcock respectively, and forced the Gators to trail in a dual match for the first time in 2015.
The odds seemed to be in Clemson's favor from the early onset of the singles event, when No. 27 Joana Eidukonyte upset No. 11 Morgan in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0. However, in her first dual match singles appearance of the season, No. 26 Kourtney Keegan sparked a rally for the Gators with a 6-2, 6-2 win over the Tigers' Daniela Ruiz in the No. 6 slot.
After dropping the first set, freshman Brooke Austin bounced back and topped No. 85 Romy Koelzer, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, to knot the match at two. The Tigers quickly broke the tie, however, with a win over Florida's No. 40 Porter in No. 5 singles to pull ahead, 3-2.
With two singles matches remaining, things were looking grim for the Gators. Kuhlman and Woolcock both trailed in their respective third sets. As both sets wore on however, Florida's No. 2 and No. 4 made it clear to never count out the Gators. No. 9 Kuhlman toughed out a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Clemson's Beatrice Gumulya. With a 6-3 lead in a set three tiebreaker, Woolcock failed to capitalize on numerous match point opportunities and allowed her opponent, Tristen Dewar, to come dangerously close to a win. Yet against all odds, Woolcock still managed to clinch the match for Florida, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6).
The Gators continue their quest for a National Indoor title, when they face the No. 7 seed, No. 10-ranked Virginia in the quarterfinals on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 3:30 p.m.
| 2015 University of Florida Women's Tennis |
| Boar's Head Sports Club |
| Charlottesville, Va. |
| Friday, February 6, 2015 |
| | | | | | |
| Doubles | FLORIDA | vs | CLEMSON | Winner | | Score/match length |
| Brooke Austin (7) | | Jessy Rompies (2) | | | |
| No. 1 - | Kourtney Keegan (7) | | Beatrice Gumulya (2) | DNF | | |
| Josie Kuhlman (17) | | Romy Koelzer | | | |
| No. 2 - | Peggy Porter (17) | | Tristen Dewar | *CLEM | | 6-3 |
| Brianna Morgan (25) | | Joana Eidukonyte | | | |
| No. 3 - | Belinda Woolcock (25) | | Daniela Ruiz | CLEM | | 6-2 |
| | | | | | |
| Singles | FLORIDA | vs | CLEMSON | Winner | | Score/match length |
| No. 1 - | Brooke Austin (6) | | Romy Koelzer (85) | UF | | 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 |
| No. 2 - | Josie Kuhlman (9) | | Beatrice Gumulya | UF | | 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 |
| No. 3 - | Brianna Morgan (11) | | Joana Eidukonyte (27) | CLEM | | 6-3, 6-0 |
| No. 4 - | Belinda Woolcock (43) | | Tristen Dewar | *UF | | 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) |
| No. 5 - | Peggy Porter (40) | | Jessy Rompies | CLEM | | 7-6, 6-3 |
| No. 6 - | Kourtney Keegan (26) | | Daniela Ruiz | UF | | 6-2, 6-2 |
| | | | | | |
| FINAL SCORE: | Florida – 4 | | Clemson – 3 | | | * Clinched victory |
| Records: | Florida 4-0 | | Clemson 3-2 | | | |
| Order of Finish: | Doubles: 3, 2 | | Singles: 3, 6, 1, 5, 2, 4 | | | |
| | | | | | |
Quotes from the Match
Thornqvist's Thoughts – Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On mindset heading into the third-set tiebreaker at 3-3 match score…
We've had quite a few of those over the years and it usually comes down to whoever's got the better composure, can make the right tactical decisions, and it's not necessarily always the better player or the best ball-striker. I must say, I've never seen this. I told them I've been around this game 30 years. I've never seen a player lose a 6-1 tiebreak lead and subsequently win the match. I've seen people lose the 6-1 lead but they always lose. To our player's credit, I thought she handled herself like a real pro at the end. So now we're in the tournament. We really got shook up. Clemson's got a great team and we were on the back foot the whole day. We got a little lucky at the end but sometimes that's what it takes, and we were fortunate to advance today.
On words of advice for Belinda Woolcock at 6-6 in the tiebreak…
I came up here, it was 3-all in the third and she won 80% whenever she held onto the ball and made the other kid work. That really was my message, to not go for too much too soon. She seemed to have success the longer the point went. I thought she did a great job at that up until she got the lead, and then she blew some forehands. A couple of maybe prematurely in the point, but to her credit she got it back.
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