GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida came out focused and did what it needed to do most on Thursday – win. The Gators were efficient in their 4-0 victory against No. 23 Kentucky at the Ring Tennis Complex.
 
With the win, only now can the Gators turn their complete attention to Saturday's home match against No. 3 Vanderbilt, which tonight defeated No. 7 South Carolina, 4-2, in Columbia, S.C., and set up the regular-season finale that will determine the Southeastern Conference champion.
 
The Gators and Commodores are tied atop the league standings with matching 11-1 records and will play for the title in Gainesville at 11 a.m.
 
Always known for having talented doubles tandems, Kentucky came ready to fight for that first team point of the dual match and won the initial game on each of the three courts that included a break on court one.
 
The Gators battled back and eventually flipped those scores in their favor to earn the doubles point with 6-3 victories on courts two and three.
 
Senior Anna Danilina played an outstanding match on the showcase court and needed just 60 minutes to give the Gators a 2-0 lead with her 6-2, 6-0 win against Emily Fanning.
 
Senior Josie Kuhlman then topped Justina Mikulskyte, 6-3, 6-2, for a 3-0 Gator lead before freshman McCartney Kessler polished off the team victory with her 6-3, 6-3 decision over Mami Adachi.
 
Doubles the Fun

• Florida won the doubles point for the 13th time this season and improved to 12-1 when doing so.
• Kessler and Kuhlman paired on court two and found themselves at 3-3 after Kuhlman held serve. The tandem got the big break in the seventh game and Kessler held for a 5-3 lead before the Gators earned one final break to win the match.
• On court three, Katie Kubicz and Peggy Porter found themselves down a break and 3-0 before starting their big comeback. They won six consecutive games to provide the clinching doubles-point victory, 6-3.
• Victoria Emma was serving up 5-3, 30-30 on court one when play was abandoned.

 
All the Singles Ladies

• Danilina didn't drop her serve the entire match on court one, where she won her ninth consecutive SEC singles match and improved to a team-best 25-9 overall.
• Kuhlman won her second straight match after not having recorded a result in six straight matches. She improved to 20-5 overall this season, including 12-3 in dual matches and 5-1 in SEC action.
• Kessler won her team-leading 15th dual match, as she improved to a Gator-best 10-1 in SEC matches. She has won her last 10 league outings.

 
Florida vs. Kentucky: The Updated Series

• All-Time: UF leads the all-time series against Kentucky, 42-2 (UF at home: 21-0; Away: 15-2; Neutral: 6-0).
• Last Meeting: Last year, the Gators defeated Kentucky, 4-0, in Lexington on April 14, 2017.
• Streak: The 43-match series began in 1983 and the Gators have won the last 10 meetings.
• Of Note: The last UK win was a 4-3 decision on March 6, 2009 in Lexington.

 
Quotes from the Court – UF Coach Roland Thornqvist
General thoughts on the win:
"I thought we were pretty good, actually. There were a couple spots where maybe we could have played better, but overall I think this was a really, really good win. It was one of those matches where – we've had so many of these battles with Vanderbilt that this could have easily been one of those matches where some of the players were looking ahead to Saturday. Obviously, I thought we did a really good job.
 
"Winning the doubles point was hotly contested. Kentucky is known for their doubles and I thought they showed some real class today. At three doubles we started really poorly, but somehow found a little rhythm and won six straight games and I think that really helped.
 
"In singles, we had good momentum on three or four courts to start and I think that really carried us through really."
 
Coach continued on about Thursday's win and talked about the magnitude of Saturday's match. WATCH all of what he had to say.

• Postmatch with Coach Roland Thornqvist: https://youtu.be/7C-y5SeOkJg

 

• Postmatch with senior Anna Danilina: https://youtu.be/br_UFRsi59M

 


 
Match 22
No. 23 Kentucky at No. 10 Florida
Ring Tennis Complex * Gainesville, FL
Thursday, April 12, 2018
 
Final: #10 Florida 4, #23 Kentucky 0
 
Doubles (order of finish: 2, 3*)
1. #14 Anna Danilina/Victoria Emma (UF) vs. #67 Emily Fanning/Lesedi Jacobs (UK) 5-3, unfinished
2. McCartney Kessler/Josie Kuhlman (UF) def. Mami Adachi/Justina Mikulskyte (UK) 6-3
3. Katie Kubicz/Peggy Porter (UF) def. Brianna Tulloch/Diana Tkachenko (UK) 6-3*
 
Singles (order of finish: 1, 2, 3*)
1. #13 Anna Danilina (UF) def. Emily Fanning (UK) 6-2, 6-0
2. #45 Josie Kuhlman (UF) def. #87 Justina Mikulskyte (UK) 6-3, 6-2
3. McCartney Kessler (UF) def. Mami Adachi (UK) 6-3, 6-3*
4. Victoria Emma (UF) vs. Diana Tkachenko (UK) 5-7, 1-3, unfinished
5. Peggy Porter (UF) vs. Lesedi Jacobs (UK) 3-6, 3-4, unfinished
6. Katie Kubicz (UF) vs. Brianna Tulloch (UK) 6-7 (5-7), 3-0, unfinished
 
Match Notes: Florida 16-6, 11-1 SEC … Kentucky 14-8, 6-6 SEC
 
 
Gator Pronunciations for this release

• Anna Danilina: ON-nah don-uh-LEE-nah
• Josie Kuhlman: COOL-mun

 
 
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