NCAA Semifinal Berth on the Line Sunday

Sunday, May 21

Athens, GA

2 PM

Florida Gators

Oklahoma State (NCAA Quarterfinals)

Josie Kuhlman (pictured) and Gators will have face a Oklahoma State that won the doubles point during the regular season.

NCAA Semifinal Berth on the Line Sunday

Saturday, May 20, 2017 | Women's Tennis

Live Scoring & Video Team Draw UF Notes UF's NCAA History

Top-seeded Florida plays ninth-ranked Oklahoma State in the NCAA quarterfinals.

By: Kathy Cafazzo

ATHENS, Ga. – Top-seeded Florida (26-3) has earned its spot in the NCAA Championships quarterfinals where it will play ninth-ranked Oklahoma State (25-5) at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., on Sunday, May 21 at 4 p.m. ET.

The Gator's path to the quarterfinal round included wins against Massachusetts (4-0), Miami (4-1) and Texas A&M (4-0).

Florida in the Quarterfinals

The Gators are making their 31st appearance in the NCAA quarterfinal round.
The team's last trip to the quarterfinals came in 2015 when Florida dropped a thrilling 4-3 decision to eventual champion Vanderbilt.
The Gators sport a 24-5 all-time record in NCAA Quarterfinal matches.

Gators vs. Cowgirls: The Series

The Gators are 9-0 all-time against the Cowgirls, including a 3-0 record in NCAA Championships action.
Last Meeting: The Gators played and defeated Oklahoma State in Gainesville, 4-2, on Friday, February 17.
NCAA Meetings: The most recent postseason meeting between the two teams occurred in the 2015 round of 16 in Waco, Texas, where the Gators won 4-0. Other NCAA match-ups include UF's 4-1 in the 2014 second round in Gainesville and in the 1996 round of 16 where UF topped OSU, 5-0, in Tallahassee en route to winning its second of six NCAA titles.
Of Note: OSU is one of four schools that won the doubles point against the Gators (Michigan, Georgia and Vanderbilt the others). Of the four times UF lost the doubles point, it is one of two matches that UF won.

LAST MEETING VS. OKLAHOMA STATE: GATORS TOP COWGIRLS IN CLOSE 4-2 MATCH
This was the first match for the Gators after winning the National Team Indoor Championships

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (February 18, 2017) – Despite losing the doubles point, Florida fought back in singles play to slow the Cowgirls' roll. Belinda Woolcock and Ingrid Neel earned two quick wins to give the Gators a 2-1 lead, until Anna Danilina fell to Aliona Bolsova to tie up the match.
The final points came down to Josie Kuhlman, Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan in the final three positions. Each went into three sets, with Austin finishing first to pull the Gators into the lead. Josie Kuhlman finished right behind her after a taxing three-set match to clinch the win for the Gators.
UF Head Coach Roland Thornqvist Postmatch: "I did a poor job with talking to this team about what the classic trap is here after coming back from a big tournament win. We do have a veteran team and I trust them completely, but our doubles was not good. We missed turns, we didn't poach, we didn't talk enough, and we still had an opportunity to win. It was almost as if we did just about all we could do wrong and we still had an opportunity to win the doubles point. It looked dire for a while in singles too, but this team has a knack of finding ways to win and today was certainly a great example of that. This Oklahoma State team is super talented, on every court they have real players, and it took all our mite to get through the finish line today."

Quotes from the Court – UF Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On playing Oklahoma State:

"Oklahoma State is another great doubles team. They were one of the few teams that beat us in doubles this year. Then they have talent at spots one through six on the singles court. I imagine the match is going to be similar to our match on Friday, and we'll have to figure things out. It's going to come down to the little things again. (OSU Coach) Chris (Young) is one of the best coaches in the country and they are one of the most talented teams in the country so it will be a formidable task for us."

What's Next?

The winner of Sunday's match advances to semifinals where they will play the winner of the match between No. 4-seed Vanderbilt and No. 12-seed Pepperdine on Monday, May 22 at 4 p.m.
The Gators played both teams during the regular season, with Vanderbilt handing Florida two of its three losses and the Gators topping the Waves.
UF has advanced to at least the NCAA semifinals 24 times in the last 30 years.

Gators at a Glance

The Gators have won five of their last seven matches.
The Gators have won the doubles point in 24 of 29 matches.
UF improved to 23-1 when winning the doubles point this year. The only loss was in the 4-3 SEC Tournament Final loss at No. 2 Vanderbilt.
The Gators are 2-2 when losing the doubles point, with wins coming against Michigan on Feb. 10 at the National Team Indoors and versus Oklahoma State on February 17 in Gainesville.
Two of the Gator's three losses have been against Vanderbilt, which was awarded the NCAA No. 4 seed.

Florida at the NCAA Championships

The Gators sport an all-time NCAA record of 110-28, including a 19-0 record in the round of 64, an 18-1 mark in the round of 32 and a 30-4 record in the round of 16.
UF has advanced to at least the NCAA semifinals 24 times in the last 30 years.

Match Day at a Glance