Gators Host Youngstown State in NCAA First Round, Friday 2 pm

Friday, May 11

Gainesville, FL

2 PM

Florida Gators

Youngstown State (NCAA First Round)

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The Gators face Horizon League Champion Youngstown State in the first round.

Gators Host Youngstown State in NCAA First Round, Friday 2 pm

Thursday, May 10, 2018 | Women's Tennis

UF Match Notes Team Draw UF's NCAA History

The Gators and Penguins will meet for the first time.

By: Kathy Cafazzo

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After a 20-day break, Florida returns to the court and plays host to the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships at Linder Stadium at the Ring Tennis Complex.

Women's First and Second Rounds in Gainesville at a Glance

The eighth-ranked Gators received the No. 9 seed in the 64-team draw.
Florida (18-8) faces Horizon League Champion Youngstown State (16-10), in its NCAA First Round Contest on Friday, May 11 at 2 p.m. ET.
The other NCAA Women's First Round match played in Gainesville will be held on Friday beginning at 11 a.m. ET and features 17th-ranked Florida State (17-12) vs. North Florida (17-7).
The winners of both first round matches will meet Saturday at 4 p.m. for the right to advance to the championship site in Winston-Salem, where the round of 16 resumes May 17.
LIVE Online Video & Scoring: http://floridagators.com/tennis-women-live

Ticket Information

Tickets may be purchased in advance or on each day of the tournament.
An ALL-SESSION Pass $10.00 for senior citizens, college students and children under 17.
SINGLE DAY tickets for Friday and Saturday are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for senior citizens, college students and children under 17.
SINGLE DAY tickets for Sunday are $3.00 for everyone.
A Will Call window for the teams will also be located at the Ring Tennis Complex entrance.
Spectators interested in purchasing advance all-session tickets may do so by contacting:
Gator Ticket Office
PO Box 14485
Gainesville, FL 32604
(352) 375-4683 ext. 6800
(352) 372-5801 (fax)
https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/gators/EN/link/buy/browse?g%5B0%5D=27681

Seating

Gates will open for fans one hour prior to the start of the first competition each day.
Please note that seating is on a first come, first served basis.
No saving seats is permitted.

A Florida Win in the NCAA First Round Would...

Improve its Round of 64 record to 20-0 all-time
Advance the Gators to the NCAA Round of 32 for the 20th time
Provide Coach Roland Thornqvist the 495th win of his 17-year Gator career

NCAA Gainesville Regional Competitors in the Individual ORACLE/ITA National Rankings (May 3):

Florida: SINGLES - #18 Anna Danilina, #52 Josie Kuhlman; #88 McCartney Kessler; DOUBLES - #17 Anna Danilina & Victoria Emma
Florida State: SINGLES - #19 Carla Touly, #122 Petra Hule; DOUBLES - #44 Andrea Garcia & Petra Hule, #56 Ariana Rahmanparast & Carla Touly
North Florida: SINGLES - none; DOUBLES - none
Youngstown State: SINGLES - none; DOUBLES - none

Gators vs. the Gainesville Regional Teams
UF vs. Youngstown State: The Series

First meeting between the team teams
Of Note: Youngstown State enters the NCAA Championships having won its fifth consecutive Horizon League Championship.
Welcome: The Penguins are the only team not from the Sunshine State competing at the Gainesville Regional.

UF vs. Florida State: The Series

58-Match Series: Florida leads 56-2 (UF at home 34-0; away 22-1; neutral 0-1)
Streak: While the Gators have dominated the series overall, the Seminoles won this year's regular-season meeting, 4-1, on February 5 in Orlando. The outcome snapped Florida's seven-match win streak against FSU, as well as its 27-match win streak versus other teams from the Sunshine State.
The Only Other Blip: Prior to this season, the Gators' lone blemish in the series was a 5-2 decision on Feb. 28, 2009, when then-No. 13-ranked Florida was tripped up by No. 24-ranked FSU in Tallahassee.
Familiar Faces: Immediately prior to taking his currently position as head coach of the Gators, Roland Thornqvist spent three years in a similar role at his alma mater North Carolina. Current FSU head coach Jennifer Hyde served as Thornqvist's assistant coach in Chapel Hill from 1998-99.

UF vs. North Florida: The Series

Possible First Meeting between the team teams
Of Note: Despite being just 61 miles apart, a match up on Saturday would be the first ever meeting between the two schools from the Sunshine State.
Flying High: The Ospreys captured the Atlantic Sun title for the fourth consecutive season and are the No. 3 seed in this Gainesville regional.

Florida at the NCAA Championships

UF has been selected to host first and second round matches every year since the NCAA Women's Championships expanded its field to 64 teams in 1999.
The Gators have earned a berth into 36 of the 37 NCAA Championships, missing only the 1986 event.
The Gators have won seven NCAA team titles: 1992, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2011, 2012 and 2017.
UF has advanced to at least the NCAA semifinals 24 times in the last 30 years.

Good Time for a Break

When the team takes the court for its NCAA First Round match against Youngstown State, it will have been 20 days since Florida last played a competitive dual match. The Gators last played on April 22 vs. No. 1 seed Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament Final.
The longest individual singles win streak by a Gator entering the NCAA First Round is two – by Peggy Porter, who was the only Gator to win twice in the SEC Tournament without a loss.

What we did during the 20-day break - GRADUATE!

The Gators have three seniors, each of whom earned their bachelor's degree in May ... AND all three with Cum Laude honors!
Anna Danilina earned her bachelor's degree in Economics and will compete on the pro tour at the end of her collegiate season.
Josie Kuhlman earned her bachelor's degree in Public Relations and will compete on the pro tour at the end of her collegiate season. Peggy Porter earned her bachelor's degree in Finance and will attend law school at the Univ. of Virginia

Individual Gator Leaders

Freshman McCartney Kessler has recorded a team-leading 17 dual match singles wins.
Senior Anna Danilina has won a team-best 26 overall singles matches this season.
The doubles team of McCartney Kessler and Josie Kuhlman has recorded a team-best 16 dual match wins.
Individually, Kuhlman has won a team-best 18 doubles matches.

Quotes from the Court – UF Coach Roland Thornqvist
Complete Preview Interview: http://floridagators.com/watch/?Archive=11250
On playing Youngstown State:
"Playing a new team that you've never seen before is great. It's something we all enjoy about playing in the NCAA Championships is facing a team out of our region that we've never played before. That just adds to the excitement of the NCAA Championship."

On hosting the NCAA's first two rounds:
"We enjoy playing at home and in May it's a little different than any other time of the year – it's humid, it's hot and we tend to be the only team that can prepare for it. And it's nice to play in front of our fans. We have loyal fans who have followed us all year. We're really excited about competing again after this long layoff."

The keys to this weekend:
"Doubles play will be important. Not that I think that we can't advance if we don't win the doubles point, but if we do, we increase our chances quite a bit. That more than anything will help and have an effect on our margin and chance to advance. We're going to concentrate in practice on our doubles play."

Schedule of Team Play in Gainesville
Friday, May 11 | Women's NCAA First Round
11 a.m. Florida State (17-12) vs. North Florida (17-7)
2 p.m. Florida (18-8) vs. Youngstown State (16-10)

Saturday, May 12 | Women's NCAA Second Round
4 p.m. Friday's First Round winners

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