Gators Win 4-3 Thriller at No. 18 Arkansas

Friday, March 24

Fayetteville, AR

7 p.m.

Florida Gators

Arkansas

Brooke Austin clinched the 4-3 win for the Gators.

Gators Win 4-3 Thriller at No. 18 Arkansas

Friday, March 24, 2017 | Women's Tennis

Final Scores (PDF)

Brooke Austin provided the clinching victory in a third-set tiebreak.

By: Kathy Cafazzo

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Brooke Austin has played in a number of tight, pressure matches throughout her career and you can add Friday's bout at Arkansas to that list. Austin was the last match on court when the Razorbacks tied up the team score at 3-all.

The Gator junior won the 12th game of the third set to force a tiebreak, which she won 7-5 and provided the thrilling clinching dual match point in the 4-3 victory at the George M. Billingsley Tennis Center.

Florida began the match winning the doubles point, with Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock earning the 7-5 win on court two. The Gators opened with a 6-1 victory on court one, where Anna Danilina and Ingrid Neel played the top spot for the first time this season. Arkansas won on court three in a tiebreak, 7-5.

In singles action, Arkansas took the first decision on court two and evened the match at 1-1. Kuhlman came back with a three-set win on court three, before the Razorbacks again tied the team score with a win at four.

Woolcock then won a long second-set tiebreak and collected the, 6-4, 7-6 (6), win which was the 99th singles victory of her career. It also was the only singles match decided in straight sets.

Arkansas came back with a win on court six to tie the dual match at 3-all, setting the stage for Austin's heroics.

Florida vs. Arkansas

29-Match Series: UF leads 28-1 (UF at home 15-0; Away 12-1; Neutral 1-0)
Notes: Arkansas' lone win in the series was a 4-0 Razorback decision on April 5, 2009 in Fayetteville. Since that setback, Florida has won eighth straight against Arkansas, including Friday's match. Head Coach Michael Hegarty began his tenure with the Razorbacks in summer of 2003, following a role as an assistant coach for the University of Florida men's tennis team from 2001-03.

Log Jam at the Top

The Gators and Razorbacks entered Friday's match as one of five SEC teams with just one league loss, as Georgia led the pack with a half-match advantage at 5-1. Kentucky and Vanderbilt also held 4-1 SEC records.
After Friday's results, Georgia is 6-1, while Florida and Vanderbilt are 5-1 in league matches.

Team Records

Florida: 15-1, 5-1 SEC
Arkansas: 14-4, 4-2 SEC

No Stranger to the Road

Friday's match was Florida's ninth of 16 played away from the friendly confines of the Ring Tennis Complex and its third on a true away venue.

Individual Numbers of Note

Belinda Woolcock won the 99th career singles match and 80th doubles match
Josie Kuhlman won a team-leading 25th singles match this season
Kuhlman also won her 65th career doubles match

Women's College Tennis
No. 1 Florida at No. 18 Arkansas
George Billingsly Tennis Center * Fayetteville, Ark.
Friday, March 24, 2017

Final: Florida 4, Arkansas 1

Doubles (order of finish: 1, 3, 2*)
1. #24 Anna Danilina/Ingrid Neel, UF d. #38 Shannon Hudson/Giulia Pairone, AR 6-1
2. #35 Josie Kuhlman/Belinda Woolcock, UF d. Ana Oparenovic/Mia Jurasic, AR 7-5*
3. Leolia Jeanjean/Natsuho Arakawa, AR d. Brooke Austin/Spencer Liang, UF 7-6 (5)

Singles (order of finish: 2, 3, 4, 1, 6, 5*)
1. #21 Belinda Woolcock, UF d. #48 Shannon Hudson, AR 6-4, 7-6 (6)
2. #115 Ana Oparenovic d. #16 Ingrid Neel, UF 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
3. #15 Josie Kuhlman, UF d. #121 Leolia Jeanjean, AR 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
4. Mia Jurasic, AR d. #22 Anna Danillina, UF 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
5. Brooke Austin, UF d. Giulia Pairone, AR 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5)*
6. Natsuho Arakawa, AR d. #68 Spencer Liang, UF 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Records: Florida: 15-1, 5-1 SEC; Arkansas: 14-4, 4-2 SEC

What's Next for the Gators