Florida Gators
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#27 Mississippi State
Still Undefeated in SEC, Florida Tops Mississippi State, 5-2
Sunday, March 22, 2015 | Women's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida remains atop the leaderboard in the Southeastern Conference as the only undefeated SEC team in conference play after the No. 2 Gators defeated the No. 27 Mississippi State Bulldogs, 5-2, on a sunny spring afternoon at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex Sunday.
For the second consecutive contest, freshman Josie Kuhlman earned the match-clinching victory for the Gators at No. 2 singles. Kuhlman took down Georgina Patrasc of MSU, 6-3, 6-3, to secure today's win for UF. No. 5-ranked Brooke Austin bounced back from Friday's singles loss, her second of the dual match season and first in the SEC, to defeat Jasmine Lee in straight sets and tab the first singles win of the match.
Sophomore Kourtney Keegan has been clutch as of late and earned her seventh consecutive singles point with a 6-1, 6-2 decision over the Bulldogs' Jennifer Brown. The second-year has not dropped a set since her three-set victory over Florida State's Gabriella Castaneda to clinch the 4-3 win over the Seminoles on Feb. 18.
Veteran leader Brianna Morgan's streak extends to six singles matches without losing a frame, as she picked up another straight-set win at No. 3 singles to help the home team to its 142nd-consecutive win at the Ring.
In doubles, Kuhlman and teammate Peggy Porter did not give up a game and defeated Louise Ronaldson and Timea Guibe, 8-0. Spencer Liang and Belinda Woolcock clinched the early tally at No. 2 doubles with an 8-2 win. They have clinched the doubles point in three of the last four matches. Florida has not dropped the doubles point since the squad faced Alabama on Feb. 7.
The Gators have a quick turnaround, as they travel to No. 30 Texas A&M for a make-up match on Tuesday, March 24 at 3 p.m. in College Station, Texas.
| 2015 University of Florida Women's Tennis | ||||||
| Scott Linder Stadium at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex | ||||||
| Gainesville, Fla. | ||||||
| Sunday, March 22, 2015 | ||||||
| Doubles | FLORIDA | vs | MISSISSIPPI STATE | Winner |
| Score/match length |
| Brooke Austin (4) | Naomi Tran | |||||
| No. 1 - | Kourtney Keegan (4) | Martina Frantova | DNF | 5-4, DNF | ||
| Spencer Liang | Georgina Patrasc | |||||
| No. 2 - | Belinda Woolcock | Jasmine Lee | UF* | 8-2 (:45) | ||
| Josie Kuhlman (22) | Louise Ronaldson | |||||
| No. 3 - | Peggy Porter (22) | Timea Guibe | UF | 8-0 (:38) | ||
| Singles | FLORIDA | vs | MISSISSIPPI STATE | Winner |
| Score/match length |
| No. 1 - | Brooke Austin (5) | Jasmine Lee | UF | 6-3, 6-3 (1:05) | ||
| No. 2 - | Josie Kuhlman (6) | Georgina Patrasc | UF* | 6-3, 6-3 (1:32) | ||
| No. 3 - | Brianna Morgan (20) | Martina Frantova | UF | 7-5, 6-0 (1:50) | ||
| No. 4 - | Belinda Woolcock (32) | Louise Ronaldson | MSU | 7-5, 0-6, 1-0 (6) (2:10) | ||
| No. 5 - | Kourtney Keegan (38) | Jennifer Brown | UF | 6-1, 6-2 (1:15) | ||
| No. 6 - | Peggy Porter (119) | Timea Guibe | MSU | 2-6, 7-6 (1), 1-0 (11) (2:20) | ||
| FINAL SCORE: | Florida – 5 | Mississippi State – 2 | * Clinched victory | |||
| Records: | Florida 15-1, 7-0 | Mississippi State 13-5, 3-4 | ||||
| Order of Finish: | Doubles: 3, 2* | Singles: 1, 5, 2*, 3, 4, 6 | ||||
| Attendance: 136 | ||||||
Quotes from the Match
Thornqvist's Thoughts – Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the quick turnaround for Tuesday's match at Texas A&M…
I think we'll be fine. When we played at Indoors we played three consecutive days and with these three matches we actually have a rest day in between, so physically it's not going to be a problem for us. We know how good Texas A&M is, so the motivation will certainly not be an issue. I think we're looking forward to playing them.
On another solid start at doubles…
Our No. 1 doubles team has played at a high level the whole time. No. 2 and No. 3 have risen really the last three weeks or so. The level they're playing now is excellent and we're beating good teams by a wide margin. That's a credit to some of the drills we've been doing but also I think our awareness playing doubles has improved. We make better decisions when we're under duress, and we certainly make better decisions when we're in control of the point, so I'm very pleased with where we are in doubles now.
Freshman Josie Kuhlman
On preparing for Texas A&M…
We're definitely recovering, taking care of our bodies; we'll cold tank, we'll stretch. We're just focusing on our bodies first of all so we don't have any injuries. We're all playing well, competing well, so at this point it's just about taking care of our bodies and being ready for the match on Tuesday.
On the team dynamic with Peggy Porter in doubles…
Peggy and I, we play well together. We played juniors a lot together, so coming into college we had a great fall season. We struggled a little bit in the beginning part of the spring season, just a little hesitation here and there. I feel like the confidence dropped a little but we definitely got that back and we're playing really well so I'm really happy with the way things are going and I'm excited for future matches together.
VIDEO: Freshman Josie Kuhlman on clinching back-to-back matches for the Gators
Florida vs. Mississippi State:
Florida remains undefeated all-time versus Mississippi State and improved to 36-0 against the Bulldogs with today's win, including 17-0 in Gainesville.
Florida vs. SEC Teams:
Florida holds a 434-29 all-time record against Southeastern Conference opponents including postseason matchups, and a 367-19 mark in regular-season matches (6-0 this season).
142 and Counting:
Florida boasts an overall program-record home winning streak of 142 matches. The streak is the longest active home winning streak of any NCAA DI team.
Home Sweet Home:
Florida owns a remarkable 476-25 all-time home record. Additionally, they are 195-1 all-time versus SEC opponents at the Ring Tennis Complex.
Back-to-Back Clinches for Kuhlman:
Freshman Josie Kuhlman earned the match-winning singles victory for Florida in back-to-back contests: versus Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The rookie is currently riding a six-match winning streak in singles play.
Going the Distance in Doubles:
The Gators are 12-0 in dual matches when winning the doubles point this season. The No. 1 Florida tandem, No. 5-ranked Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan, and No. 2 pairing, Spencer Liang and Belinda Woolcock, have each dropped just one doubles match in dual matches this season.
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