Gators Begin Stretch of Three Matches in Four Days

Thursday, March 29

Gainesville, FL

5 PM

Florida Gators

Arkansas

Josie Kuhlman (left) and McCartney Kessler have compiled a 12-5 dual match record.

Gators Begin Stretch of Three Matches in Four Days

Wednesday, March 28, 2018 | Women's Tennis

UF Prematch Notes (PDF)

Florida plays home matches on Thursday and Saturday before playing in Orlando on Sunday evening.

By: Kathy Cafazzo

GAINESVILLE, Fla.— Fresh off a four-match road swing, 12th-ranked Florida plays host to a pair of Southeastern Conference foes this weekend with Arkansas visiting the Ring Tennis Complex on Thursday at 5 p.m. and Missouri on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Four of Florida's next six dual matches will be at home.

Triple Play

The upcoming weekend will be a busy one for the Gators, as they will play three matches in four days.
The Gators will play two SEC matches at home on Thursday and Saturday before traveling to Orlando on Sunday, April 1 to play No. 7 Texas.
Sunday's match will be part of College Match Day and will be played at the USTA National Campus. It will be televised live on the Tennis Channel, with Leif Shiras, Tracy Austin and Prakash Amritraj (sideline) covering the action.

SEC Race

The Gators enter the weekend with a 12-5 record overall and are 7-1 in the Southeastern Conference. The teams play 13 conference matches.
Florida is tied with Vanderbilt (7-1) for second in the SEC standings, while Georgia is 5-2 and Mississippi State is 5-3 in league matches.
South Carolina (8-0) leads the SEC as the only undefeated team.

Florida vs. Arkansas: The Series

All-Time: UF leads the all-time series against Arkansas, 28-1 (UF at home: 15-0; away 12-1; neutral 1-0).
Last Meeting: The Gators narrowly escaped with a 4-3 victory on March, 24, 2017, in Fayetteville.
Streak: The series started in 1992, with the only loss against Arkansas coming on April 5, 2009 in Fayetteville. Since then, the Gators have won the last eight meetings against the Razorbacks.

The No. 12 Gators (12-5, 7-1 SEC) at a Glance

What Just Happened: The Gators are coming off a couple of road wins against Alabama (4-0) and No. 15 Auburn (4-1). After their successful weekend, they jumped up six spots to No. 12 in the rankings.
Individual Rankings: Singles- No. 19 Anna Danilina and No. 49 Josie Kuhlman. Doubles- No. 23 Anna Danilina and Victoria Emma.
Of Note: Florida has won nine of its last 10 dual matches, including three straight.

No. 48 Arkansas (5-11, 1-6 SEC) at a Glance

What Just Happened: Last week, Arkansas dropped a pair of SEC matches in the Magnolia State, falling at Ole Miss (4-1) and then dropping a tough 4-3 decision at Mississippi State.
Of Note: The Razorbacks opened their SEC slate with a 4-1 win at Missouri but have lost six straight following that decision.
Familiar Face: Head Coach Michael Hegarty began his tenure with the Razorbacks in the summer of 2003, following a role as an assistant coach for the University of Florida's men's tennis team from 2001-03.

Thursday's Competitors in the Individual ORACLE/ITA National Rankings

Florida: SINGLES - #19 Anna Danilina, #48 Josie Kuhlman; DOUBLES - #23 Anna Danilina & Victoria Emma
Arkansas: SINGLES - #55 Giulia Pairone; #76 Ana Oparenovic; DOUBLES - #40 Ana Oparenovic & Tatum Rice; #59 Jackie Carr & Tatum Rice; #63 Léolia Jeanjean & Giulia Pairone

Match Day at a Glance

Who: No. 12 Florida vs. Missouri (11-10, 0-7 SEC)
When: Thursday, March 29 at 5 p.m. (EST)
Where: Ring Tennis Complex, Gainesville, Fla.
Admission: FREE for all
Special Promotion: first 100 fans receive a free metal Gator Tennis water bottle
Prematch Notes: http://floridagators.com/documents/2018/3/26/2018_03_29_Ark_Mizzou.pdf
Live Video & Scoring: http://floridagators.com/sports/2018/3/9/tennis-women-live-video-stats.aspx

Quotes from the Court – UF Coach Roland Thornqvist

WATCH Coach Thornqvist's entire interview: https://youtu.be/jI8zvF-nO34

On Arkansas:
"Arkansas almost took us last year at their place. They were up 5-3 in the third in the deciding match so we know that they are really, really good. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and we'll be able to play outside. I don't know how much they've been outside. They have a lot of talent. Their player at the one position is a big ball striker so that's going to be a fun match against Anna (Danilina) to watch."

Gator Pronunciations