Gators Capture ITA Regional Doubles Title vs. Georgia

Monday, October 24

Gainesville, FL

9:00 AM

Florida Gators

ITA Regionals (Day 5 of 5)

Josie Kuhlman (left) and Belinda Woolcock improved to 7-3 during the fall season.

Gators Capture ITA Regional Doubles Title vs. Georgia

Monday, October 24, 2016 | Women's Tennis

2016 ITA SE Regional - Main Draw Singles 2016 ITA SE Regional - Main Draw Doubles 2016 ITA SE Regional - Backdraw Singles 2016 ITA SE Regional - Qualifying Singles 2016 ITA SE Regional - Qualifying Doubles

Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock won the title for the second straight year.

By: Kathy Cafazzo

Main Draw Doubles | Main Draw Singles | Back Draw Singles

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida's Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock captured the 2016 ITA Southeast Regional Doubles Championship Presented by Oracle with a thrilling three-set victory in the final on Monday afternoon at the Ring Tennis Complex.

The Gator pair outlasted Georgia's Eleni Christofi and Kennedy Shaffer, 6-7 (2), 7-5, 10-8 in a match that lasted two hours and 35 minutes.

The level of play was extremely high until the final point of the match, which was a credit to the competitiveness and fitness of the athletes, especially Kuhlman and Christofi, who both played five hours and 32 minutes of tennis on Monday. The two squared off in a three-hour epic singles final, where the Georgia freshman earned the 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-6 (4) decision.

Singles Final

Result: Eleni Christofi (UG) d. Josie Kuhlman (UF), 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-6 (4) – match lasted just under three hours
Highlights – First Set: Kuhlman jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first before Christofi roared back with the next four. Kulhman held, as did Christofi, but the next two games were breaks. Kulhman fought off two set points and forced a tiebreak, which was tight from the start. Kulhman dropped a tough serve in the ninth point when her groundstroke sailed just over the line. She came right back on won a great point on Christofi's serve for 5-all. Kuhlman just missed a volley at the net, which went wide and Christofi won the next point to take the opening set.
Highlights – Second Set: Kuhlman won the first two games, Christofi the next two, as the Gator then gained control and captured the final four games to even the match at one set apiece and force a third set. Kuhlman fought off a pair of game points in the seventh game for the break and served out for the win.
Highlights – Third Set: Christofi jumped out to a 3-1 lead behind a pair of breaks, before Kuhlman earned a break in the fifth and held to even the decider at 3-all. The next four games were on-serve and it stayed that way until the 11th game, where Kuhlman got the break for a 6-5 lead. She wasn't able to close out the match, however, and the final moved to a tiebreak, which was on-serve until Christofi got a mini-break in the seventh point. She held for 5-3 and Kuhlman broke for 5-4, but couldn't hold as Christofi claimed the hard-fought win.
After the Match: Kuhlman will apply for an at-large berth for USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. She sports a 13-2 singles record during the 2016 Fall season.

Doubles Final

Result: Josie Kuhlman/Belinda Woolcock (UF) def. Eleni Christofi/Kennedy Shaffer (UG), 6-7 (2), 7-5, 10-8 – match lasted two hours and 35 minutes
Highlights – First Set: Georgia was serving with a 5-2 lead before Florida came fighting back and won four straight games to take a 6-5 lead, as Woolcock held at love. Georgia held and forced a tiebreak, where the Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-1 lead and the Gators couldn't recover.
Highlights – Second Set: There wasn't a break in the seven games until Georgia struck first in the eighth game and took a 5-3 lead with Shaffer to serve. The Gators broke her at love and Kuhlman held to get the frame back on-serve at 5-all. Florida broke again and Woolcock held to force a deciding third set.
Highlights – Third Set: Played as a 10-point super-tiebreaker. The first four points were on-serve before the teams traded mini-breaks. The next two games were breaks, before Woolcock's beautiful backhand cross-court volley for a winner held for the Gators and it was 4-3. Georgia held for 4-4 and UF won the next four points and took a 8-4 lead. The Dawgs earned the next two points, before Woolcock ended the streak and make it 9-6. Georgia held on its next two serves for 9-8, but Kuhlman polished off the victory on her first serve on the 18th point of the tiebreak.
After the Match: Kuhlman and Woolcock are now 7-3 in the 2016 Fall season and earned an automatic berth into the 2016 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.

On the Line

Singles and doubles champions from each of the ITA Regional Championships held across the country receive an automatic entry into the 2016 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.
The USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, considered the second leg of the collegiate Grand Slam, will be held Nov. 3-6 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, NY.

Quoting The Gators: UF Head Coach Roland Thornqvist:
"It was a terrific day of tennis. I thought it was a top-5 match-up in the singles final. One point here or there and the outcome could have gone either way, as could the doubles."

On the doubles match:
"I was really pleased that we found a way to move more in the tiebreak than we had in the whole match and that's why we won. We had a lot of courage. We were willing to hit the ball and move. We were real brave I was proud of that. We talk about that all the time, that you have to find a way to play with courage and I was real pleased to see that we did that."

On Josie Kuhlman's fitness helping her play a three-hour singles match followed by a two-hour doubles match:
"It's the Florida way, it's what we do. When Josie trains, it's full-speed all the time. I have a lot of confidence that she'll be strong until the last ball. She's going to give it everything she's got. It's our goal this year as a team, to be a little tougher. To be able to handle the pain of competing for three hours, followed by another two and half hour doubles match."

WATCH

The postmatch interview with Kuhlman and Woolcook - http://youtu.be/5k87Y0HnWgc
Match Point Gators - http://youtu.be/1Ee4deOzSXw

What's Next for the Gators

Gators who do not qualify for the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships (Nov. 3-6) will compete at the Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic (Nov. 4-6).
USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships is held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, NY.
The Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic is played in Lakewood Ranch, Florida
These will be the final events of the 2016 Fall season.

2016 ITA Southeast Regional Championships Presented by Oracle
Ring Tennis Complex, Gainesville, Fla.
Monday, October 24, 2016
All Results from Monday

Singles Final
Eleni Christofi (UG) d. Josie Kuhlman (UF), 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-6 (4)

Singles Backdraw Final
Caroline Brinson (UG) d. Kristin Rehse (GSTU), 6-1, 6-4

Doubles Final
[1] Josie Kuhlman/Belinda Woolcock (UF) d. [5] Eleni Christofi/Kennedy Shaffer (UG), 6-7 (2), 7-5, 10-8

FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube |
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators

-0-