GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The No. 3 University of Florida women's tennis team defeated the No. 3 USC Trojans in dominating fashion on Sunday afternoon at the Ring Tennis Complex. The Gators swept the Trojans, 7-0 to move to 3-0 on the season.
The Gators once again took the early 1-0 lead over their opponent, grabbing the doubles point in two closely contested matches. At the No. 1 position, the marquee matchup of the day was No. 5-ranked
Brooke Austin and
Kourtney Keegan defeating the No. 4-ranked USC duo of Giuliana Olmos and Gabby Smith, 6-4. The No. 15-ranked tandem of
Josie Kuhlman and
Belinda Woolcock clinched the doubles point for the Gators with a 6-4 victory over Zoe Katz and Jessica Failla.
The Orange and Blue swept the singles play against some tough USC opponents. No. 110-ranked
Anna Danilina once again made quick work of her opponent with a 6-2, 6-0 match win over No. 48 Rianna Valdes. Sophomore No. 56-ranked Kuhlman was the next off of the court with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of No. 49 Madison Westby. Fellow-sophomore No. 11-ranked Austin got her first match-clinching win over No. 42 Giuliana Olmos, 7-6(3), 6-3.
UF would sweep the final three matches. No. 25 Keegan defeated No. 76 Jessica Failla, 6-2, 6-4. Junior Woolcock took her singles match over Gabby Smith, 6-4, 6-3. The most competitive match of the day and final one to finish was the comeback victory from senior
Brianna Morgan. The Beverly Hills, Calif. native at the No. 5 position fell in the first set, 6-3. The senior then battled back to take the next two sets, 6-3, 7-5.
Up next, the Gators continue their home stand against Top-20 opponents with No. 15 Baylor on Saturday and No. 20 Clemson on Sunday.
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist On the match victory over #4 USC…"I thought we played pretty well. The streak, aside, it was tricky to play today because of the wind. Obviously, we played a really good team today. We are happy to win. I was happy with how we fought too. We were able to use our legs whenever we had to. Anytime you beat a Top-5 team, you have to feel pretty good about it."
On the Gators' play today… "With the wind and the cold air today, it was hard for us to hit the corners the whole time. We had to hit the middle of the box more. It's two things you have to be strong mentally to do because your rallies are extended and you have to use your legs more. I was happy to see that we were willing to do that today. It made a difference. A couple of the second sets got close at the end, where we had leads and then we rely on our legs to finish. I have said all along that this is a very big hitting team this year and we need to have Plan B to fall back on and today we had to do that."
Sophomore Brooke Austin On the atmosphere at the Ring Tennis Complex this afternoon… "Gator Nation is amazing. When we were warming up, we were thinking no one was going to come. It is cold, it is windy and it is freezing. But so many people showed up and it was so much fun to able to play, especially during the doubles point. During the doubles point, it got really loud at the end and that really gave us a lot of energy to keep going and to close out the match."
Final Results #3 Florida 7, #4 USC 0 Doubles-Order of Finish: 1, 2*
#5
Brooke Austin/
Kourtney Keegan (UF) def. #4 Giuliana Olmos/Gabby Smith (USC), 6-4
#15
Josie Kuhlman/
Belinda Woolcock (UF) def. Zoe Katz/Jessica Failla (USC), 6-4
#110
Anna Danilina/
Brianna Morgan (UF) vs. Madison Westby/Rianna Valdes (USC), 5-3 susp.
Singles-Order of Finish: 6, 3, 1*, 4, 2, 5
#11
Brooke Austin (UF) def. #42 Giuliana Olmos (USC) 7-6(3), 6-4
#3
Belinda Woolcock (UF) def. Gabby Smith (USC) 6-4, 6-3
#56
Josie Kuhlman (UF) def. #49 Madison Westby (USC) 6-4, 6-1
#25
Kourtney Keegan (UF) def. #76 Jessica Failla (USC) 6-2, 6-4
#51
Brianna Morgan (UF) def. #114 Zoe Katz (USC) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
#110
Anna Danilina (UF) def. #48 Rianna Valdes (USC) 6-2, 6-0
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