Friday, March 17
Gainesville, FL
5 PM
Florida Gators
1
vs
4
Georgia
The Streak(s) is Over
Friday, March 17, 2017 | Women's Tennis
The Gators fall to Georgia, 4-1, in the team's first loss of the season.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – "I bet there were people in Gainesville who never thought today would happen, but it did," said Florida Head Coach Roland Thornqvist as he walked into the postmatch press conference at the Ring Tennis Complex Friday evening.
He was his usual soft-spoken self, however, there was a somber tone.
His Gators had just lost. At home. To a Southeastern Conference opponent.
Florida dropped a tough 4-1 decision to rival Georgia, ranked No. 6 in the current national poll.
The Gators entered Friday's match boasting a slew of winning streaks. Incredible streaks, some of which spanned more than a decade.
Some of the more significant streaks that should be celebrated once the disappointment of the loss wears off:
The Gators never quite seemed their usual confident selves throughout the dual match, while the Bulldogs had their sights set on the upset.
On the doubles court, Florida's Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock were the first to post a result, earning a 6-3 win after falling behind 3-1 early.
The remaining two matches were tight throughout and the Bulldogs capitalized on a number of unforced errors and won both matches 7-5 by breaking in the final game to take the doubles point.
Georgia came out equally as focused on the singles court, where the Bulldogs won the first set at four of the six spots that eventually led to a quick 3-0 team lead after earning wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in 64 minutes.
Junior Josie Kuhlman got Florida on the board with a 6-3, 6-0 win on court four, as she won the first three and final eight games to secure the victory against Caroline Brinson.
Florida actually seemed to collect some momentum at that point. Anna Danilina had just earned a break to win the second set and force a third. Brooke Austin had dropped her second set in a tiebreak after winning the first and open the third with a pair of breaks for a 3-0 lead. Kourtney Keegan was receiving, down 4-2 in the second after dropping the first and got the break, held and earned another break for a 5-4 lead with the serve.
The Gators needed to win all three matches to complete what would have been a stunning comeback. In front of a crowd of 361, however, Florida was unable to rally all the way back, as Keegan's match became the clincher, 6-2, 7-6 (5).
The Gators will return to the court on Sunday, when the play host to No. 19 Tennessee beginning at 1 p.m.
And with those first serves, aiming to start a slew of new, impressive streaks.
Postmatch with UF Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the significance of the doubles point:
"It retrospect, it was pretty big. Credit Georgia for coming in here and beating this team – that's a heck of an accomplishment. We did not play particularly confident and that's the one thing that irks me a little bit. Georgia played really, really well. At one and two singles, they were fantastic today. After they won the doubles point, they really looked like they had a lot of wind in their sails. It was a tough day for us."
On some of the Gators being emotionally vocal during their match:
"It's hard to change the mentality of a player when they're playing. This team, up until today, has been a real resilient team, tough. We've been able to turn matches, turn sets when we were down. I just didn't see any of that passion and confidence that we had seem up to this point. That's the disappointing thing and that's why I think it's so quiet in the locker room right now. I told them that the streak is the streak. I care about the streak because it meant so much to so many players who have sacrificed to much to win here. That part is really sacred. In and of itself, (the streak) means very little if we can get better from it. On Sunday, we plan to start a new streak."
"From a mental standpoint, it didn't look we were there like we normally are. Georgia was fantastic in capitalizing. That's hard to do, come in here and believe you can beat this team, which is arguably one of the best teams we've had here in years. It takes a lot of moxie to do that and they played great. They were able to expose some things today and you have to give them credit."
"We made a lot of unforced errors. A ton of them. I can't how many games where we gave away two, sometimes three points. Against a good team, you're going to be punished and we were today.
"I told them in the locker room that I'm glad that this was the team that ended or lost the streak because this team can handle it. This is a team of veterans. This is a team that's very close-knit. Perhaps next year's team that's going to be much younger, won't be as equipped to handle if this streak broke next year. I think this team is galvanized. They are together to the point that there will be very little linger effect from today. In a way, if it was going to happen at some point, this would be the team I would choose to suffer the loss because they will be able to handle it the best."
On bouncing back:
"Losing is part of tennis. We never had a goal at the beginning of the season to go undefeated. We have a goal to be the best we can be in May (for the NCAAs). If we can learn and get better from this, than there is a way we can turn this into a blessing in disguise. Thank goodness we play again on Sunday. I think a lot of those players want to get back out there and get the mulligan. They want to do it again. We'll practice Saturday at 9 a.m. and hopefully, it will be a spirited one and then we'll be ready to tee it up against Tennessee on Sunday."
Women's College Tennis
No. 6 Georgia at No. 1 Florida
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex * Gainesville, Fla.
Friday, March 17, 2017
Final: Georgia 4, Florida 1
Doubles (order of finish: 3, 1, 2*)
1. Caroline Brinson/ Ellen Perez, UG d. #15 Brooke Austin/ Kourtney Keegan, UF 7-5
2. #58 Elena Christofi/Kennedy Shaffer, UG d. #11 Anna Danilina/Ingrid Neel, UF 7-5*
3. #36 Josie Kuhlman/ Belinda Woolcock, UF d. #36 Marta Gonzalez/Mariana Gould, UG 6-3
Singles (order of finish: 1, 2, 4, 6*
1. #55 Ellen Perez d. #19 Belinda Woolcock, UF 6-2, 6-1
2. Elena Christofi, UG d. #14 Ingrid Neel, UF 6-2, 6-1
3. #22 Anna Danilina, UF vs. #63 Kennedy Shaffer, UG 2-6, 6-3, 1-2 DNF
4. #12 Josie Kuhlman, UF d. #86 Caroline Brinson, UG 6-3, 6-0
5. #125 Brooke Austin, UF vs. Marta Gonzalez, UG 6-1, 6-7 (5), 3-1 DNF
6. Mariana Gould, UG d. #32 Kourtney Keegan, UF 6-2, 7-6 (5)*
Records: No. 1 Florida 13-1, 3-1 SEC; No. 6 Georgia (10-3, 4-1 SEC)
What's Next for Florida
Gator Pronunciations
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube |
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
He was his usual soft-spoken self, however, there was a somber tone.
His Gators had just lost. At home. To a Southeastern Conference opponent.
Florida dropped a tough 4-1 decision to rival Georgia, ranked No. 6 in the current national poll.
The Gators entered Friday's match boasting a slew of winning streaks. Incredible streaks, some of which spanned more than a decade.
Some of the more significant streaks that should be celebrated once the disappointment of the loss wears off:
- Overall home win streak of 163 that included 23 SEC and NCAA Tournament matches. It was the longest active streak of any NCAA Division I team in any sport of any gender in the country and began on January 22, 2005. UF's last home loss was a 4-3 setback to Miami on May 15, 2004.
- Regular-season home win streak of 159 was the longest in program history and included four wins in 2017. The streak began on January 25, 2003, following a regular-season finale 4-3 loss to No. 2 Georgia on April 7, 2002.
- Home win streak against SEC foes of 97 consecutive matches, which is actually the second-longest streak of its kind in program history. UF had won a program-record 108 against SEC teams at home that ended April 7, 2002, to the Bulldogs, who are the only league team to defeat the Gators at home. UF is now 205-2 all-time at home against SEC teams, a record that includes SEC and NCAA Tournament matches.
- Florida had won 17 consecutive regular-season SEC matches before tonight.
- UF had won 26 straight regular-season matches – a run that began with a 7-0 decision against Arkansas on March 3, 2016.
The Gators never quite seemed their usual confident selves throughout the dual match, while the Bulldogs had their sights set on the upset.
On the doubles court, Florida's Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock were the first to post a result, earning a 6-3 win after falling behind 3-1 early.
The remaining two matches were tight throughout and the Bulldogs capitalized on a number of unforced errors and won both matches 7-5 by breaking in the final game to take the doubles point.
Georgia came out equally as focused on the singles court, where the Bulldogs won the first set at four of the six spots that eventually led to a quick 3-0 team lead after earning wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in 64 minutes.
Junior Josie Kuhlman got Florida on the board with a 6-3, 6-0 win on court four, as she won the first three and final eight games to secure the victory against Caroline Brinson.
Florida actually seemed to collect some momentum at that point. Anna Danilina had just earned a break to win the second set and force a third. Brooke Austin had dropped her second set in a tiebreak after winning the first and open the third with a pair of breaks for a 3-0 lead. Kourtney Keegan was receiving, down 4-2 in the second after dropping the first and got the break, held and earned another break for a 5-4 lead with the serve.
The Gators needed to win all three matches to complete what would have been a stunning comeback. In front of a crowd of 361, however, Florida was unable to rally all the way back, as Keegan's match became the clincher, 6-2, 7-6 (5).
The Gators will return to the court on Sunday, when the play host to No. 19 Tennessee beginning at 1 p.m.
And with those first serves, aiming to start a slew of new, impressive streaks.
Postmatch with UF Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the significance of the doubles point:
"It retrospect, it was pretty big. Credit Georgia for coming in here and beating this team – that's a heck of an accomplishment. We did not play particularly confident and that's the one thing that irks me a little bit. Georgia played really, really well. At one and two singles, they were fantastic today. After they won the doubles point, they really looked like they had a lot of wind in their sails. It was a tough day for us."
On some of the Gators being emotionally vocal during their match:
"It's hard to change the mentality of a player when they're playing. This team, up until today, has been a real resilient team, tough. We've been able to turn matches, turn sets when we were down. I just didn't see any of that passion and confidence that we had seem up to this point. That's the disappointing thing and that's why I think it's so quiet in the locker room right now. I told them that the streak is the streak. I care about the streak because it meant so much to so many players who have sacrificed to much to win here. That part is really sacred. In and of itself, (the streak) means very little if we can get better from it. On Sunday, we plan to start a new streak."
"From a mental standpoint, it didn't look we were there like we normally are. Georgia was fantastic in capitalizing. That's hard to do, come in here and believe you can beat this team, which is arguably one of the best teams we've had here in years. It takes a lot of moxie to do that and they played great. They were able to expose some things today and you have to give them credit."
"We made a lot of unforced errors. A ton of them. I can't how many games where we gave away two, sometimes three points. Against a good team, you're going to be punished and we were today.
"I told them in the locker room that I'm glad that this was the team that ended or lost the streak because this team can handle it. This is a team of veterans. This is a team that's very close-knit. Perhaps next year's team that's going to be much younger, won't be as equipped to handle if this streak broke next year. I think this team is galvanized. They are together to the point that there will be very little linger effect from today. In a way, if it was going to happen at some point, this would be the team I would choose to suffer the loss because they will be able to handle it the best."
On bouncing back:
"Losing is part of tennis. We never had a goal at the beginning of the season to go undefeated. We have a goal to be the best we can be in May (for the NCAAs). If we can learn and get better from this, than there is a way we can turn this into a blessing in disguise. Thank goodness we play again on Sunday. I think a lot of those players want to get back out there and get the mulligan. They want to do it again. We'll practice Saturday at 9 a.m. and hopefully, it will be a spirited one and then we'll be ready to tee it up against Tennessee on Sunday."
Women's College Tennis
No. 6 Georgia at No. 1 Florida
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex * Gainesville, Fla.
Friday, March 17, 2017
Final: Georgia 4, Florida 1
Doubles (order of finish: 3, 1, 2*)
1. Caroline Brinson/ Ellen Perez, UG d. #15 Brooke Austin/ Kourtney Keegan, UF 7-5
2. #58 Elena Christofi/Kennedy Shaffer, UG d. #11 Anna Danilina/Ingrid Neel, UF 7-5*
3. #36 Josie Kuhlman/ Belinda Woolcock, UF d. #36 Marta Gonzalez/Mariana Gould, UG 6-3
Singles (order of finish: 1, 2, 4, 6*
1. #55 Ellen Perez d. #19 Belinda Woolcock, UF 6-2, 6-1
2. Elena Christofi, UG d. #14 Ingrid Neel, UF 6-2, 6-1
3. #22 Anna Danilina, UF vs. #63 Kennedy Shaffer, UG 2-6, 6-3, 1-2 DNF
4. #12 Josie Kuhlman, UF d. #86 Caroline Brinson, UG 6-3, 6-0
5. #125 Brooke Austin, UF vs. Marta Gonzalez, UG 6-1, 6-7 (5), 3-1 DNF
6. Mariana Gould, UG d. #32 Kourtney Keegan, UF 6-2, 7-6 (5)*
Records: No. 1 Florida 13-1, 3-1 SEC; No. 6 Georgia (10-3, 4-1 SEC)
What's Next for Florida
- Who: No. 19 Tennessee (14-5, 1-4 SEC) at No. 1 Florida (13-1, 3-1 SEC)
- When: Sunday, March 19 * 1 p.m.
- Where: Linder Stadium at the Ring Tennis Complex, Gainesville, Fla.
- Admission: FREE!
- Live Stats: http://sidearmstats.com/florida/wten/
- Live Video: http://floridagators.com/sports/2017/1/20/tennis-live-video-stats.aspx
Gator Pronunciations
- Anna Danilina: ON-nah don-uh-LEE-nah
- Josie Kuhlman: COOL-mun
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube |
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
Players Mentioned
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