Wednesday, March 8
Gainesville, FL
5:00 PM
Florida Gators
6
vs
0
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Mississippi State
Florida Women's Tennis Rebounds with Impressive Win
Tuesday, March 1, 2016 | Women's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The fifth-ranked University of Florida women's tennis team rebounded from its first regular season loss since 1995 with a convincing 6-0 victory over 25th-ranked Mississippi State Wednesday at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. The win improved Florida's overall record to 8-1, 4-0 in the Southeastern Conference. MSU fell to 7-3, 2-2 in league play.
The victory extended another significant win streak for the Gators, who won their 96th consecutive home match against SEC rivals.
"This was the best match we have played from the top of the lineup to the bottom all year," Florida head coach Andy Brandi said. "I told the team after the match that, 'the Gators have been hibernating and we finally came out.' It's been a long time since we have been this dominating in a match. We worked the ball well and made it extremely difficult for Mississippi State to get into any kind of rhythm. Everybody applied pressure and kept it on until the job was done."
The Gators had won 114 consecutive regular season dual matches prior to Sunday's 5-4 loss at then-No. 5 Wake Forest.
Junior Stephanie Hazlett needed just over an hour to polish off Carole Soubis 6-2, 6-1 at the no. 3 position to give Florida a quick 1-0 lead. Seconds later, freshman Julia Scaringe topped Anca Vasiloaica 6-1, 6-1 at no. 6.
"Last weekend we played more not to lose instead of playing to win," Hazlett said. "Today, we played to win and it showed. Now that the streak is over, the pressure is off of us. Practice this week was very relaxed and loose and it showed in our performance today on the court."
Senior Traci Green provided Florida's clinching team point with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Andrea Lord at the no. 4 position in one hour and 16 minutes. Minutes before Green's decisive win, sophomore Jessica Lehnhoff downed Ivana Belancic 6-3, 6-2 at the no. 2 position and senior Baili Camino dismissed Claudia Oliveira 6-0, 6-3 at no. 5.
Junior Whitney Laiho completed the sweep for the Gators, defeating Amelie Detriviere 6-3, 6-4 at the no. 1 position.
Florida returns to action on Friday, March 10. Please note that this is a CHANGE IN DATE from previously released schedules, which listed the Gators hosting Ole Miss on Saturday. Friday's match will begin at 5:00 p.m. and be a rematch of last year's SEC Tournament final. In that match, the Lady Rebels stunned the Gators 5-4, snapping their overall 53-match winning streak.
"We haven't thought about last year too much," Hazlett said. "But those of us who lost in that match to Ole Miss last season will be out for revenge - you can count on that."
NCAA Women's Tennis
Gainesville, Fla.
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
March 8, 2000
Final Score: Florida 6, Mississippi State 0
Singles
No. 1 Whitney Laiho, UF d. Amelie Detriviere, MSU 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 Jessica Lehnhoff, UF d. Ivana Belancic, MSU 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 Stephanie Hazlett, UF d. Carole Soubis, MSU 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 Traci Green, UF d. Carole Soubis, MSU 6-2, 6-1*
No. 5 Baili Camino, UF d. Claudia Oliveira, MSU 6-0, 6-3
No. 6 Julia Scaringe, UF d. Anca Vasiloaica, MSU 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
Did not play
*clinching match
The victory extended another significant win streak for the Gators, who won their 96th consecutive home match against SEC rivals.
"This was the best match we have played from the top of the lineup to the bottom all year," Florida head coach Andy Brandi said. "I told the team after the match that, 'the Gators have been hibernating and we finally came out.' It's been a long time since we have been this dominating in a match. We worked the ball well and made it extremely difficult for Mississippi State to get into any kind of rhythm. Everybody applied pressure and kept it on until the job was done."
The Gators had won 114 consecutive regular season dual matches prior to Sunday's 5-4 loss at then-No. 5 Wake Forest.
Junior Stephanie Hazlett needed just over an hour to polish off Carole Soubis 6-2, 6-1 at the no. 3 position to give Florida a quick 1-0 lead. Seconds later, freshman Julia Scaringe topped Anca Vasiloaica 6-1, 6-1 at no. 6.
"Last weekend we played more not to lose instead of playing to win," Hazlett said. "Today, we played to win and it showed. Now that the streak is over, the pressure is off of us. Practice this week was very relaxed and loose and it showed in our performance today on the court."
Senior Traci Green provided Florida's clinching team point with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Andrea Lord at the no. 4 position in one hour and 16 minutes. Minutes before Green's decisive win, sophomore Jessica Lehnhoff downed Ivana Belancic 6-3, 6-2 at the no. 2 position and senior Baili Camino dismissed Claudia Oliveira 6-0, 6-3 at no. 5.
Junior Whitney Laiho completed the sweep for the Gators, defeating Amelie Detriviere 6-3, 6-4 at the no. 1 position.
Florida returns to action on Friday, March 10. Please note that this is a CHANGE IN DATE from previously released schedules, which listed the Gators hosting Ole Miss on Saturday. Friday's match will begin at 5:00 p.m. and be a rematch of last year's SEC Tournament final. In that match, the Lady Rebels stunned the Gators 5-4, snapping their overall 53-match winning streak.
"We haven't thought about last year too much," Hazlett said. "But those of us who lost in that match to Ole Miss last season will be out for revenge - you can count on that."
NCAA Women's Tennis
Gainesville, Fla.
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
March 8, 2000
Final Score: Florida 6, Mississippi State 0
Singles
No. 1 Whitney Laiho, UF d. Amelie Detriviere, MSU 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 Jessica Lehnhoff, UF d. Ivana Belancic, MSU 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 Stephanie Hazlett, UF d. Carole Soubis, MSU 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 Traci Green, UF d. Carole Soubis, MSU 6-2, 6-1*
No. 5 Baili Camino, UF d. Claudia Oliveira, MSU 6-0, 6-3
No. 6 Julia Scaringe, UF d. Anca Vasiloaica, MSU 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
Did not play
*clinching match
Florida Women's Tennis | Scarlett Nicholson Mic'd Up
Thursday, February 12
NCAA: Roland Thornqvist Press Conference 5-5-24
Sunday, May 05
NCAA: Coach Thornqvist & Rachel Gailis 5-4-24
Saturday, May 04
Roland Thornqvist Postmatch NCAA Second Round 5-6-23
Saturday, May 06
