Saturday, May 12
Gainesville, FL
4 PM
Florida Gators
vs
Florida State (NCAA Second Round)
Josie Kuhlman was the only Gator who earned a singles win in the February meeting against FSU.
Gators Embrace Rematch vs. Seminoles
Saturday, May 12, 2018 | Women's Tennis
Florida plays Florida State in the NCAA Second Round on Saturday at 4 p.m.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It was a match Florida played on Friday and needed to stay focused on and not be distracted by what was to come.
The Gators did just that in their 4-0 sweep against Youngstown State in the NCAA Championships first round on Friday at Linder Stadium at the Ring Tennis Complex.
Now, Florida can turn its undivided attention to a match its been waiting 99 days to revisit.
On Saturday at 4 p.m., the Gators play host to No. 21 Florida State in the second round of the NCAA Championships.
In its third match of the 2017-18 season, Florida squared off against its instate rival in Orlando and the Seminoles got the best of the Gators, 4-1, and claimed just their second win in the 58-match series history. Florida was coming off a national championship season and lost five letterwinners from that squad and wore a target on its back with an early No. 3 national ranking thanks in part to last year's success.
Three seniors and three freshmen comprised the Gators' roster against Florida State on February 3. It was very young team trying to find new chemistry and learn about itself. That loss to the Seminoles started a downward swing, as Florida dropped a four of its next five matches and found itself with a 3-4 record.
Then something clicked.
The Gators won three consecutive road matches all by a 4-3 decision and those thrillers ignited a run of six straight victories, as Florida won 11 of its next 12 and was in contention for the Southeastern Conference regular-season title on the final day.
The 59th match in the series should be everything fans expect in a classic Florida – Florida State matchup.
Only this one comes with a trip to the NCAA Championships Round of 16 on the line.
UF Coach Roland Thornqvist
On tomorrow's match against Florida State:
"I think Florida State has had a really good year. Obviously, I know (FSU coach) Jenn (Hyde) really well since we worked together at North Carolina a couple decades ago. They really beat us badly in February. I want to maintain what I've said leading up to this tournament, that we are a completely different team than we were in February. Taking those losses early in the season, that experience made us who we are today. I think we're a much more resilient team now than we were back then. I think it's going to be a fantastic tennis match tomorrow. They have great players, one through six. It's going to come down to end-of-set play. I think we're in a much better place as a team in that category than we were back then."
UF Senior Peggy Porter
On tomorrow's match against Florida State:
"I know our whole team has been dying to play FSU since that match. We've improved so much in every aspect and I think it's nice to come full circle and have the opportunity to play that team again."
UF Freshman McCartney Kessler
On tomorrow's match against Florida State:
"I'm really excited to play them again. Ever since our first match against them, I've been hoping we would play them again in this tournament. I feel like we're a lot better of a team now so I think it will be a much better match."
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JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
The Gators did just that in their 4-0 sweep against Youngstown State in the NCAA Championships first round on Friday at Linder Stadium at the Ring Tennis Complex.
Now, Florida can turn its undivided attention to a match its been waiting 99 days to revisit.
On Saturday at 4 p.m., the Gators play host to No. 21 Florida State in the second round of the NCAA Championships.
In its third match of the 2017-18 season, Florida squared off against its instate rival in Orlando and the Seminoles got the best of the Gators, 4-1, and claimed just their second win in the 58-match series history. Florida was coming off a national championship season and lost five letterwinners from that squad and wore a target on its back with an early No. 3 national ranking thanks in part to last year's success.
Three seniors and three freshmen comprised the Gators' roster against Florida State on February 3. It was very young team trying to find new chemistry and learn about itself. That loss to the Seminoles started a downward swing, as Florida dropped a four of its next five matches and found itself with a 3-4 record.
Then something clicked.
The Gators won three consecutive road matches all by a 4-3 decision and those thrillers ignited a run of six straight victories, as Florida won 11 of its next 12 and was in contention for the Southeastern Conference regular-season title on the final day.
The 59th match in the series should be everything fans expect in a classic Florida – Florida State matchup.
Only this one comes with a trip to the NCAA Championships Round of 16 on the line.
UF Coach Roland Thornqvist
On tomorrow's match against Florida State:
"I think Florida State has had a really good year. Obviously, I know (FSU coach) Jenn (Hyde) really well since we worked together at North Carolina a couple decades ago. They really beat us badly in February. I want to maintain what I've said leading up to this tournament, that we are a completely different team than we were in February. Taking those losses early in the season, that experience made us who we are today. I think we're a much more resilient team now than we were back then. I think it's going to be a fantastic tennis match tomorrow. They have great players, one through six. It's going to come down to end-of-set play. I think we're in a much better place as a team in that category than we were back then."
UF Senior Peggy Porter
On tomorrow's match against Florida State:
"I know our whole team has been dying to play FSU since that match. We've improved so much in every aspect and I think it's nice to come full circle and have the opportunity to play that team again."
UF Freshman McCartney Kessler
On tomorrow's match against Florida State:
"I'm really excited to play them again. Ever since our first match against them, I've been hoping we would play them again in this tournament. I feel like we're a lot better of a team now so I think it will be a much better match."
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube |
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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