PALO ALTO, Calif. - The No. 7 University of Florida women's tennis team had another match come down to the final court in the third set on Sunday afternoon at No. 16 Stanford. The Gators fell to their west coast opponent, 4-3 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium in Palo Alto, Calif.
The Orange and Blue grabbed the doubles point for the seventh consecutive match this season with victories on court two and three. The No. 19-ranked tandem of
Josie Kuhlman and
Belinda Woolcock defeated Kimberly Yee and Carol Zhao, 6-2. By the same score,
Anna Danilina and
Brianna Morgan defeated the No. 41-ranked tandem of Hardebeck and Lampl to clinch the doubles point.
In singles action, five of the six matches would go to third sets. The first match completed was on court two with No. 24 Taylor Davidson dealing Woolcock her first dual match loss of the season, 7-6(5), 6-2. Danilina would push the score to 2-1 with a win on court six. Carol Zhao would defeat
Brooke Austin on court one 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 to bring the match to two-all.
Stanford would pull ahead in the match with a victory on court three.
Kourtney Keegan would fall to Carolina Doyle by way of a third set tiebreaker, 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(2). Morgan would finish off Lampl on court five, 7-5, 2-6, 6-0 to again bring the match to a tie at three-all.
On the final court, Kuhlman would take the first set, 6-4 and Hardebeck took the second, 3-6. The Gator sophomore fought off multiple match points, including coming back from down 40-love to bring the match to a tie at five. In the end, the Stanford senior pulled away from the Gator and took the third set, 7-5 and claimed the match for Stanford.
Up next, Florida returns home to the friendly confines of the Ring Tennis Complex to open up SEC play against Arkansas at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday evening.
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist On the match against Stanford today… "It is always a pleasure to play these guys. Not only are they talented, but they are really classy. I think these two teams bring out the best in one another. It is always a pleasure to compete. The rivalry has seemed to severely tilt towards the home team. This is a tough place to play and this was a tough weekend for us. Going down 4-3 to Cal on Friday, I thought we rebounded really well today. At one point, I think we were leading in all five three-setters. It was tough for us but we learned a lot this trip. I like our doubles play. Even the days we are not playing well, we find ways to win.
We were one point away from winning again just like we were on Friday. This stings and we have to find a way to get over it and realize 'hey we are pretty good'. The two teams we played this weekend are two teams that are going to be vying for a national title and we took them to the brink on their home courts. So, when it is all said and done, yes, we have some work to do, but I think the Gators are pretty good and we are looking forward to getting back on the court again."
Final Results #16 Stanford 4, #7 Florida 3 Doubles-Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*
- #3 Davidson/Doyle (Stanford) def. #7 Austin/Keegan (UF) 6-2
- #19 Kuhlman/Woolcock (UF) def. Yee/Zhao (Stanford) 6-2
- Danilina/Morgan (UF) def. #41 Hardebeck/Lampl (Stanford) 6-2
Singles-Order of Finish: 2, 6, 1, 3, 5, 4*
- Carol Zhao (Stanford) def. #11 Brooke Austin (UF) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
- #24 Taylor Davidson (Stanford) def. #6 Belinda Woolcock (UF) 7-6(5), 6-2
- #51 Caroline Doyle (Stanford) def. #30 Kourtney Keegan (UF) 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(2)
- #109 Krista Hardebeck (Stanford) def. #72 Josie Kuhlman (UF) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
- #88 Brianna Morgan (UF) def. Caroline Lampl (Stanford) 7-5, 2-6, 6-0
- #67 Anna Danilina (UF) def. Melissa Lord (Stanford) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
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