Josie Kuhlman has won more than 100 singles matches in her career.
Josie Kuhlman: The Final Season, Part 1
Wednesday, March 14, 2018 | Women's Tennis
Kuhlman is sharing a first-hand account about her fourth and final collegiate season as a Gator.
Josie Kuhlman is one of three seniors on the 2017-18 Gators women's tennis team. She was prominent member of Florida's 2017 NCAA championship team and welcomed the idea of sharing a first-hand account about her fourth and final collegiate season as a Gator.
Florida is currently ranked No. 18 in the country and has compiled a 9-4 overall record to this point in the season, including a 4-0 mark in the Southeastern Conference.
*****
I knew this year was going to be a challenge.
Coming off a stacked national championship team last year, and losing the majority of that team meant that this year was going to be different. We wouldn't have the same faces at practices that we've had for the last three years or the experience that grew to be a strength of ours.
No, instead we would be young. We would be inexperienced. We would be short-staffed with only six players. People would doubt us and our ability after losing most of our 2017 squad. With three seniors and three freshmen, we knew we would have to be a tight-knit unit if we were going to succeed. There would be a huge learning curve for the freshmen and we seniors would have to adjust to our new roles as team leaders. Every team has its challenges and this year for us, it was our inexperience and youth.
With that being said, we also knew how talented we were.
Coming into the season, I had no doubt that every single one of us could perform at the national championship level. We were talented, but winning a national championship doesn't just take talent. I knew that, and the seniors knew that, but we would have to teach the freshmen. We were in for a long journey that is tennis season and if we were going to be the best team we could be in May, we needed to focus on our progress each and every week and getting better, not the wins and losses. With matchplay comes mental toughness and a grit to bear down and find a way to win even when the odds are against us. It has nothing to do with talent, but rather experience. And that's what I knew this team would need when we started season in January.
The start was rough. After National Indoors, for the first time in my career at Florida, we had an under .500 winning percentage with a 3-4 record. In fact, we already had more losses than any other season I'd played at Florida.
But we stayed the course. We recognized our progress in our losses. While it was easy to feel disappointed and down, we had to make sure we kept our heads high and find victories even in the losses. And it helped us.
Since our loss to Georgia Tech at National Indoors, we have won six straight matches and are 4-0 in the SEC. With our wins has come a kind of confidence that will help us down the road. We're not afraid to play tight matches. We aren't scared to be the last match on with the team result hanging on one individual match. We have faith in each other. That confidence was not present at the beginning of season, but was something we have learned through experience. And it will only continue to help us moving forward.
As brutal a conference as the SEC is, we know we will face more challenges in the future. We will have more ups and downs, but through it all, we are going to stay focused on getting better and taking lessons from each experience. It's a long season and we are only halfway through. Just like any other season, this one is about improvement. We want to be the best team we can be in May. So we are going to continue to learn from each match, each other, and enjoy this journey. We are embracing it. This season is a challenge that I would accept again in a heartbeat.
Florida is currently ranked No. 18 in the country and has compiled a 9-4 overall record to this point in the season, including a 4-0 mark in the Southeastern Conference.
*****
I knew this year was going to be a challenge.
Coming off a stacked national championship team last year, and losing the majority of that team meant that this year was going to be different. We wouldn't have the same faces at practices that we've had for the last three years or the experience that grew to be a strength of ours.
No, instead we would be young. We would be inexperienced. We would be short-staffed with only six players. People would doubt us and our ability after losing most of our 2017 squad. With three seniors and three freshmen, we knew we would have to be a tight-knit unit if we were going to succeed. There would be a huge learning curve for the freshmen and we seniors would have to adjust to our new roles as team leaders. Every team has its challenges and this year for us, it was our inexperience and youth.
With that being said, we also knew how talented we were.
Coming into the season, I had no doubt that every single one of us could perform at the national championship level. We were talented, but winning a national championship doesn't just take talent. I knew that, and the seniors knew that, but we would have to teach the freshmen. We were in for a long journey that is tennis season and if we were going to be the best team we could be in May, we needed to focus on our progress each and every week and getting better, not the wins and losses. With matchplay comes mental toughness and a grit to bear down and find a way to win even when the odds are against us. It has nothing to do with talent, but rather experience. And that's what I knew this team would need when we started season in January.
The start was rough. After National Indoors, for the first time in my career at Florida, we had an under .500 winning percentage with a 3-4 record. In fact, we already had more losses than any other season I'd played at Florida.But we stayed the course. We recognized our progress in our losses. While it was easy to feel disappointed and down, we had to make sure we kept our heads high and find victories even in the losses. And it helped us.
Since our loss to Georgia Tech at National Indoors, we have won six straight matches and are 4-0 in the SEC. With our wins has come a kind of confidence that will help us down the road. We're not afraid to play tight matches. We aren't scared to be the last match on with the team result hanging on one individual match. We have faith in each other. That confidence was not present at the beginning of season, but was something we have learned through experience. And it will only continue to help us moving forward.
As brutal a conference as the SEC is, we know we will face more challenges in the future. We will have more ups and downs, but through it all, we are going to stay focused on getting better and taking lessons from each experience. It's a long season and we are only halfway through. Just like any other season, this one is about improvement. We want to be the best team we can be in May. So we are going to continue to learn from each match, each other, and enjoy this journey. We are embracing it. This season is a challenge that I would accept again in a heartbeat.
Players Mentioned
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