Austin Aced Freshman Season with Gators on Way to NCAA Sweet 16
Thursday, May 14, 2015 | Women's Tennis, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- A year ago Gators freshman Brooke Austin would have felt differently about the experience.
It just felt good Saturday.
Facing Georgia Tech's Johnnise Renaud at No. 1 singles with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line, Austin dropped the first set to Renaud, 4-6. She won the second set, 6-1, and led in the third, 1-0.
As Austin attempted to climb back from an early deficit and help Florida advance, teammate Josie Kuhlman capped a 4-0 Florida victory by closing out her match against Rasheeda McAdoo.
Austin quickly joined the Gators' celebration, unbothered by the fact her opportunity to put away Renaud was silenced before she could finish the job.
“It's definitely been a transition being part of a team,'' Austin said. “You are not just playing for yourself anymore. It's cool watching it all come together when you are out there.”
Prior to arriving at Florida in the fall, Austin was used to flying solo as one of the nation's top junior players.
On the rare occasion she played on a team, it was usually in a blink.
“I would be around these girls on a team in juniors for like four or five days,'' she said. “We would all be from different states and I'd never see them again. Here, I basically live with all of them. It's way different.”
And it's way OK. Austin has fit in as comfortably as a soft couch in the living room.
She became the first UF freshman to earn SEC Player of the Year honors -- she also was SEC Freshman of the Year -- and only the second first-year player in conference history to take the top individual award.
Austin is eager for a new experience on Friday when the No. 5-ranked Gators face Oklahoma State in the Sweet 16 at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
“The bigger the stage, the better she is. We've seen that already,'' Gators head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “This is the time when she's going to give us the best shot to win. You can't teach that.”
Florida is after its sixth consecutive top-3 finish and if the Gators play up to their ability, a third national title during that span isn't out of the equation.
Austin, who is 31-5 overall and ranked third in the country, is a huge reason why Thornqvist is optimistic about his team's chances.
She is a different player than the one Thornqvist traveled to New York with in September to watch Austin play in the U.S. Open junior girls singles competition.
“She is fitter than she has been all year and I think her serve is better than it's been since she has come here,'' Thornqvist said. “Those are two really, really important things for her.”
Austin is a power player on a Florida team known for its agility and ability to outrun opponents.
Georgia Tech coach Rodney Harmon watched his team run out of gas Saturday on a sun-baked 90-degree day at Linder Stadium.
“Their girls are in great shape,'' Harmon said. “They ran the entire match. I think going into Waco they are going to be a factor.”
Austin didn't exactly show up that way. Her game was in shape, but her body and mind needed some work.
Thornqvist has seen similar situations many times in his career when a highly-touted recruit arrives at college and quickly learns everyone on the team can do what she can do. How they accept the challenge of transitioning from high school to college is what he studies closely.
Austin passed.
“She has exceeded my expectations,'' he said. “I mean, playing 1 in the SEC and on the national stage like … it's brutal. And she came to play every weekend.
“Our goal was to make her a little fitter, a little quicker. We're not looking for free points on the serve yet, we're just looking for the serve not to hurt us. I would say in the last couple of months, we have seen fitness, agility, and the serve start to really take off.
Playing at No. 1 singles, Austin avenged both her regular-season conference losses at the SEC Tournament by defeating Mississippi's Julia Jones and Vanderbilt's Sydney Campbell in back-to-back matches.
Thornqvist has mentored many future pros in his time at UF, including Lauren Embree, who led Florida to back-to-back national championships in 2011 and '12.
Austin has the same kind of ability but a different type of approach.
“She has always been an unbelievable ball striker,'' Thornqvist said. “When she gets to the ball and gets it right, it's Lindsay Davenport, it's on a rope. But she wasn't quick enough, and she wasn't fit enough, and her serve could go in and out, which under pressure in big moments in the past, has bit her in the butt.”
Thornqvist said Austin is at her best when the stakes are highest. Her game turns up a notch. She won't face any higher stakes at Florida than in the NCAA Tournament.
Austin hasn't been around long, but she understands the mission.
She has the same one as her teammates.
“We've been working for this the whole season. It's obviously a big deal for all of us,'' she said. “We all want to win a national championship.”
