GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It was a winner-take-all match for the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship and it more than lived up to the hype. For Florida, however, it was a heartbreaking end on the last day of the season, as the Gators dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 3 Vanderbilt at Linder Stadium at the Ring Tennis Complex on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
 
Florida honored its three seniors – Anna Danilina, Josie Kuhlman and Peggy Porter – in a prematch ceremony before Vanderbilt dominated the doubles action, winning 6-1 on courts two and three to take a quick 1-0 lead in the dual match.
 
The Gators regrouped in singles action and won the first set on four of the six courts.
 
Freshmen Victoria Emma and McCartney Kessler gave Florida a 2-1 lead after winning on their respective courts, followed shortly afterwards by Danilina's great battle on the showcase court that lifted the Gators to 3-1 in the team scoring.
 
Emma topped Emma Kurtz, 6-1, 6-4, on court four and Kessler downed Amanda Meyer, 6-1, 6-4 on court three for her 11th straight SEC singles win, as she finished the regular-season with a team-best 11-1 record.
 


Danilina upset sixth-ranked Fernanda Contreras, 7-5, 6-1, on court one for her 10th consecutive SEC singles victory and cap her league record at 10-1 this year.
 


The momentum was all in Florida's favor, as Kuhlman was steamrolling in her second set on the way to forcing a deciding third. Katie Kubicz was on serve midway through her second set after winning the first. Porter held a 3-1 with the serve in the second after taking the first set in a tiebreak.
 
The Gators needed just one of those matches to win an improbable SEC title.
 
Vanderbilt, however, kept battling.
 
Emily Smith won the final three games against Kubicz to force a third set, where she rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win five straight games and the match that tightened Florida's leads to 3-2.
 
Rosca, ranked 20th in the country, returned to her first-set form and downed Kuhlman, 6-2, in the third and the team match was even at 3-3.
 
All eyes turned to court five, where Porter was serving with a 3-1 lead in the second. Summer Dvorak found a way to win six consecutive games to win the second set and hold for a 1-0 lead in the third.
 
Porter regrouped and held en route to taking a 4-1 lead in the third, heading to the baseline to serve that sixth game. Dvorak again channeled that fight and ripped off the final five games to win the 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4 decision in two hours and 35 minutes that clinched Vanderbilt's second overall and consecutive SEC regular-season title.
 
Miscellaneous Match Notes

• Kessler won her 11th consecutive SEC singles match and finished the regular season with a 11-1 record in league matches
• Danilina won her 10th straight SEC singles match and finished the regular season with a 10-1 record in league matches
• Florida dropped the doubles point for the eighth time and fell to 3-5 when doing so
• This marked the fifth time Florida has played a match ending a 4-3, with the Gators now 3-2 in those matches
• Vanderbilt won in Gainesville for the first time in 22 matches and became just the second SEC ever to defeat the Gators on their home court. UF is now 215-3 all-time at home against SEC foes.
• Vanderbilt extended its win streak to eight matches.

 
What's Next for the Gators

• The seedings and draw for the 2018 SEC Tournament will be unveiled Sunday evening.
• Florida has earned a double-round bye and won't play until Friday, with its seed and opponent unknown until Sunday.
• Action at the 14-team event gets underway Wednesday in Knoxville, Tenn.

 
Déjà vu

• The 2017 SEC championship also came down to the final day of play, with Florida, Vanderbilt and Georgia all in the mix with an 11-1 record.
• The Commodores topped the Gators, 4-2, in Nashville and ended Florida's title hopes.
• Texas A&M upset the Bulldogs, leaving Vanderbilt as the league champion the first time in program history.

 
Florida vs. Vanderbilt: The Updated Series

• All-Time: UF leads the all-time series against Vanderbilt 49-8 (UF at home: 21-1; Away: 14-4; Neutral: 14-3).
• Last Meeting: Earlier this year, Vanderbilt claimed the 4-0 decision on Feb. 10 in the quarterfinals of the 2018 National Team Indoor Championships played in Madison, Wis.
• Streak: While the Gators hold a large lead in the 56-match series that began in 1980, Vanderbilt has won seven of the last nine meetings.
• Last Year: The teams met three times last season: Vanderbilt won the regular-season match (4-2) and the SEC Tournament Final (4-3) bout, before Florida took the NCAA Semifinals win (4-2) en route to the seventh national championship in program history.

 
Thank you, Seniors!

• The Gators recognized their three seniors in a pre-match ceremony on Saturday.
• Anna Danilina - will graduate at the end of this semester with a degree in Economics
• Josie Kuhlman - will graduate at the end of this semester with a degree in Public Relations
• Peggy Porter - will graduate at the end of this semester with a degree in Finance

 
SEC Regular-Season Champions

• Of the 38 all-time Southeastern Conference regular-season championships, Florida (29) and Georgia (9) have won at least a part of 35 of those, sharing the title three times.
• Kentucky (2005), Texas A&M (3-way-tie 2013) and Vanderbilt (2017, 2018) are the only other schools that have won the SEC regular-season title.

 
Quotes from the Court
UF Head Coach Roland Thornqvist: - https://youtu.be/i-zzAh0W5YA
On Saturday's hard-fought match:
"Great fight. A lot of class from Vanderbilt, too, because we really had them in a deep, deep, deep hole and they found a way to beat us in three three-setters in the end. Rewind a week ago, and we won three of four three-setters against South Carolina. I have a lot of respect for what the Vandy kids did today. We tried to run it, roll it, it was hot and I'm sure they haven't seen that too much but they found a way to get through in some three setters."
 
WATCH Coach Thornqvist's entire postmatch press conference



Senior Anna Danilina - https://youtu.be/G_pxmmt2hRE
On winning her individual singles match but losing the team match:
"Obviously, I'm very disappointed. I think it was a great match and our girls fought really hard. I think it was one of the best matches we've ever played. It was a great senior day. I'm sad with the loss but we just got unlucky at the end."
 
WATCH Danilina's entire postmatch press conference



Freshman Victoria Emma - https://youtu.be/Ki2oWtOrPPI
On her individual singles victory:
"It felt great. I've had a tough couple of weeks lately and it was nice to get a good win, but with the team, we're sad we didn't get the win. We fought really hard and we can build on this and do better in the postseason. We know that we're going to be okay because of the way this team is built. We're all so close so we know that we can get past this."

WATCH Emma's entire postmatch press conference



Match 23
#3 Vanderbilt at #10 Florida
Ring Tennis Complex * Gainesville, FL
Saturday, April 14, 2018
 
Final: #3 Vanderbilt 4, #10 Florida 3
 
Doubles (Order of finish: 3,2*)
1. #14 Anna Danilina/Victoria Emma (UF) vs. #71 Emma Kurtz/Emily Smith (VANDY) 4-2, unfinished
2. Amanda Meyer/Christina Rosca (VANDY) def. McCartney Kessler/Josie Kuhlman (UF) 6-1
3. Fernanda Contreras/Summer Dvorak (VANDY) def. Katie Kubicz/Peggy Porter (UF) 6-1*
 
Singles (Order of finish: 4,3,1,6,2,5*)
1. #13 Anna Danilina (UF) def. #6 Fernanda Contreras (VANDY) 7-5, 6-1
2. #20 Christina Rosca (VANDY) def. #45 Josie Kuhlman (UF) 6-1, 1-6, 6-2
3. #94 McCartney Kessler (UF) def. Amanda Meyer (VANDY) 6-1, 6-4
4. Victoria Emma (UF) def. Emma Kurtz (VANDY) 6-1, 6-4
5. Summer Dvorak (VANDY) def. Peggy Porter (UF) 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-4*
6. Emily Smith (VANDY) def. Katie Kubicz (UF) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
 
Match Notes:
Vanderbilt 19-3, 12-1 SEC; National ranking #3
Florida 16-7, 11-2 SEC; National ranking #10
Official: Mac McGreggor 
A-569
 
Gator Pronunciations

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

 
 
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