Florida Gators
#26 South Carolina
Florida Sweeps South Carolina, 4-0
Saturday, March 28, 2015 | Women's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Junior Brianna Morgan clinched her team-leading sixth match for the No. 5 Florida Gators and secured a 4-0 shutout victory over No. 26 South Carolina Saturday afternoon at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
Florida rebounded from an uncharacteristically cautious doubles outing at Texas A&M and clinched the early point versus the Gamecocks. No. 8-ranked Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan moved to 4-0 in SEC doubles with an 8-2 win on Court 1, and freshman duo No. 31 Josie Kuhlman and Peggy Porter secured the 1-0 match lead with an 8-5 victory over South Carolina's Elixane Lechemia and Ximena Siles Luna.
Fresh off her thrilling match-clinching performance at Texas A&M, Porter shined again in singles play with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Hadley Berg on Court 6 to carry the Gators' momentum from doubles into individual action. No. 5-ranked Austin gave up just one game to the Gamecocks' No. 50 Elixane Lechemia en route to a 6-0, 6-1 win to make it a 3-0 match in favor of the home team. Morgan noticeably improved as the match went on, which was reflected in the score on Court 3, as she earned the match winner by a score of 6-4, 6-0.
With just four matches remaining in the regular season, Florida will play the first two on the road, opening with No. 18 Kentucky on Friday, April 3 at 5 p.m. in Lexington, Kentucky.
| 2015 University of Florida Women's Tennis | ||||||
| Scott Linder Stadium at Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex | ||||||
| Gainesville, Florida | ||||||
| Saturday, March 28, 2015 | ||||||
| Doubles | FLORIDA | vs | SOUTH CAROLINA | Winner |
| Score/match length |
| Brooke Austin (8) | Hadley Berg (75) | |||||
| No. 1 - | Kourtney Keegan (8) | Caroline Dailey (75) | UF | 8-2 (:45) | ||
| Spencer Liang (54) | Meghan Blevins (37) | |||||
| No. 2 - | Belinda Woolcock (54) | Brigit Folland (37) | DNF | 6-7, DNF | ||
| Josie Kuhlman (31) | Elixane Lechemia | |||||
| No. 3 - | Peggy Porter (31) | Ximena Siles Luna | UF* | 8-5 (1:18) | ||
| Singles | FLORIDA | vs | SOUTH CAROLINA | Winner |
| Score/match length |
| No. 1 - | Brooke Austin (5) | Elixane Lechemia (50) | UF | 6-0, 6-1 (1:28) | ||
| No. 2 - | Josie Kuhlman (7) | Caroline Dailey | DNF | 7-5, 2-6, DNF | ||
| No. 3 - | Brianna Morgan (24) | Brigit Folland | UF* | 6-4, 6-0 (1:35) | ||
| No. 4 - | Kourtney Keegan (37) | Meghan Blevins | DNF | 6-3, 3-1, DNF | ||
| No. 5 - | Belinda Woolcock (41) | Ximena Siles Luna | DNF | 7-6 (4), DNF | ||
| No. 6 - | Peggy Porter (112) | Hadley Berg | UF | 6-1, 6-1 (:56) | ||
| FINAL SCORE: | Florida – 4 | South Carolina – 0 | * Clinched victory | |||
| Records: | Florida 17-1, 9-0 | South Carolina 12-7, 4-5 | ||||
| Order of Finish: | Doubles: 1, 3* | Singles: 6, 1, 3* | ||||
| Attendance: 213 | ||||||
Quotes from the Match
Thornqvist's Thoughts – Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the improvement in doubles today after losing the point at Texas A&M…
It was much better. We have to learn to be able to play like this on the road too, obviously. I think this team can have that luxury of playing a little more freely in doubles and take more calculated risks in doubles because of the toughness of our singles line-up. We don't have to necessarily win the doubles point in order to prevail and that should allow us to take a little more risk in doubles. Today I thought we did a really good job because South Carolina's won a lot of doubles points this year, so obviously we did something right.
On approaching the end of the regular season…
We just talked in the locker room about how long and grueling the season can be. We're actually taking tomorrow off and we're going to do an optional practice on Monday too so if players really need an extra day for their legs and for their mind to really get their appetite back then we're going to afford them to take that day off. Vanderbilt and Kentucky only have one loss [in SEC play]. Three of the four matches we have left are against top-4 SEC teams. We need to mind our Ps and Qs, no question.
Freshman Peggy Porter
On finishing first in singles…
It's really good to know what's going on. Sometimes it's kind of frustrating to be up in a match and not finish. It's good to win early and know that you're going to help your team put a point on the board. And it's really fun to watch everyone else and cheer.
On clinching the doubles point and taking momentum into singles…
That's definitely really big for me and Josie [Kuhlman]. We struggled a little bit in the beginning of the season. Our wins took forever. We weren't winning any matches, so it definitely feels really good to be able to overcome that and do better and help the team.
On how fast her freshman season has gone by thus far…
It's crazy. I feel like I just moved in last week. Especially with the season, the spring semester has gone by crazy fast since we have a match every weekend. I feel like the season just started.
Florida vs. South Carolina:
Florida improved to 41-2 all-time versus South Carolina with today's win, including an 18-0 record in Gainesville.
Florida vs. SEC Teams:
Florida holds a 436-29 all-time record against Southeastern Conference opponents including postseason matchups, and a 369-19 mark in regular-season matches (9-0 this season).
143 and Counting:
Florida boasts an overall program-record home winning streak of 143 matches. The streak is the longest active home winning streak of any NCAA DI team.
Home Sweet Home:
Florida owns a remarkable 478-25 all-time home record. Additionally, they are 197-1 all-time versus SEC opponents at the Ring Tennis Complex.
Tough to Beat:
The Gators remain the only undefeated team in Southeastern Conference action. Florida is riding a twelve-match winning streak and has taken down its last eight opponents by a combined score of 41-7.
Big Stage Bri:
With today's match-clinching victory, Brianna Morgan extended her team-leading match-securing wins record to six.
Going the Distance in Doubles:
The Gators are 13-0 in dual matches when winning the doubles point. Florida's top-ranked duo, Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan, is undefeated in SEC doubles action and has dropped just one doubles match during the overall dual season.
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