Florida Gators
#5 Georgia
Brianna Morgan Clinches Third-Straight Match for No. 6 Florida in 4-3 Upset Win Over No. 5 Georgia
Saturday, April 11, 2015 | Women's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It seems no team can count out the No. 6 Florida Gators if junior Brianna Morgan is the last singles player standing, and Friday night was no exception as Morgan clinched her third consecutive match for UF on Friday evening when Florida defeated No. 5 Georgia at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex to open Florida's annual Orange and Blue Weekend.
Entering tonight's match, Florida, Georgia and Vanderbilt all owned a 10-1 Southeastern Conference record. With Georgia's loss and Vanderbilt falling 4-3 to Texas A&M, the Gators' 4-3 victory over SEC foe Georgia put them in an excellent position to win the regular-season conference title if the Orange and Blue conclude the 2015 schedule with a win Sunday afternoon.
It was a tight race to the doubles point after No. 12-ranked tandem Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan defeated No. 20 Lauren Herring and Ellen Perez. Both doubles matches on Courts 2 and 3 went to a tiebreaker, but UF got out to solid starts in both. It was Spencer Liang and Peggy Porter in their dual match debut as a tandem who clinched what would turn out to be a crucial doubles point for the home team.
UF jumped out to a 3-0 lead with wins at the top two singles positions from freshmen Austin and Josie Kuhlman, but Georgia would not go home without a fight. The Bulldogs swept the bottom half of the singles line-up, earning wins at Nos. 4, 5 and 6, setting the stage for the match-decider on Court 3. After easing past No. 91 Silvia Garcia in set one, 6-2, Morgan dropped the second, 6-1, but never wavered in the third and secured the win for the home team.
Florida will conclude the regular season with a Sunday morning match against No. 66 Tennessee on April 12 at 10 a.m. at the Ring Tennis Complex.
| 2015 University of Florida Women's Tennis | ||||||
| Scott Linder Stadium at Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex | ||||||
| Gainesville, Florida | ||||||
| Friday, April 10, 2015 | ||||||
| Doubles | FLORIDA | vs | GEORGIA | Winner |
| Score/match length |
| Brooke Austin (12) | Lauren Herring (20) | |||||
| No. 1 - | Kourtney Keegan (12) | Ellen Perez (20) | UF | 8-6 (1:03) | ||
| Josie Kuhlman | Silvia Garcia (25) | |||||
| No. 2 - | Belinda Woolcock | Kennedy Shaffer (25) | DNF | 7-7 (4-2), DNF | ||
| Spencer Liang | Hannah King | |||||
| No. 3 - | Peggy Porter | Laura Patterson | UF* | 8-7 (2) (1:10) | ||
| Singles | FLORIDA | vs | GEORGIA | Winner |
| Score/match length |
| No. 1 - | Brooke Austin (5) | Lauren Herring (8) | UF | 6-4, 6-4 (1:20) | ||
| No. 2 - | Josie Kuhlman (10) | Ellen Perez (59) | UF | 6-2, 6-4 (1:25) | ||
| No. 3 - | Brianna Morgan (21) | Silvia Garcia (91) | UF* | 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 (2:13) | ||
| No. 4 - | Kourtney Keegan (42) | Kennedy Shaffer (69) | UGA | 7-6 (6), 6-2 (1:59) | ||
| No. 5 - | Belinda Woolcock (43) | Caroline Brinson (110) | UGA | 6-1, 6-4 (1:42) | ||
| No. 6 - | Peggy Porter | Hannah King | UGA | 6-2, 7-5 (1:55) | ||
| FINAL SCORE: | Florida – 4 | Georgia – 3 | * Clinched victory | |||
| Records: | Florida 19-2, 11-1 | Georgia 17-5, 10-2 | ||||
| Order of Finish: | Doubles: 1, 3* | Singles: 2, 1, 5, 6, 4, 3* | ||||
| Attendance: 518 | ||||||
Quotes from the Match
Thornqvist's Thoughts – Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On working toward the SEC regular season title…
I think we'd like to win everything we enter. This SEC season, in my 14 years here, is perhaps the most brutal that we've had. There are no bad teams in this league and so we're obviously in a great position now. But Sunday could be that trap match and we talked about that in the locker room. We spent a lot of energy, a lot of jubilation tonight. And Sunday can be a trap match if we're not focused and ready to battle because Tennessee, like most teams, they have very little to lose when they play against us. So we have to make sure we're focused on the task at hand on Sunday or tonight would be for naught.
Junior Brianna Morgan
On clinching the last three wins for Florida…
It's a stressful position to be in to know that, in today's case, you're the last one on and you have to win. But I really embrace it. I find it fun to put the team on my back and for them to have to depend on me. You have to embrace it. And again I've been in this position a lot of times now so it's not as nerve wracking as it was maybe the first few times.
Florida vs. Georgia:
Florida improved to 46-15 all-time versus Georgia with tonight's victory, including a 19-1 record in Gainesville.
Florida vs. SEC Teams:
Florida holds a 438-30 all-time record against Southeastern Conference opponents including postseason matchups, and a 371-20 mark in regular-season matches (11-1 this season).
144 and Counting:
Florida boasts an overall program-record home winning streak of 144 matches. The streak is the longest active home winning streak of any NCAA DI team.
Home Sweet Home:
Florida owns a remarkable 479-25 all-time home record. Additionally, they are 198-1 all-time versus SEC opponents at the Ring Tennis Complex.
Big Stage Bri:
With tonight's match-clinching victory, Brianna Morgan extended her team-leading match-securing wins record to eight. She has clinched the last three wins for the Gators.
Going the Distance in Doubles:
The Gators are 14-0 in dual matches when winning the doubles point.
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