Sophomore McCartney Kessler started the spring season off strong with two wins on the singles court
Florida Finds Success in Season Opener
Friday, January 18, 2019 | Women's Tennis
Marlee Zein and McCartney Kessler continue on in event’s main draw
LAS VEGAS – The University of Florida women's tennis team opened its 2019 spring campaign Friday, taking the court at day one of the Freeman Memorial Women's Tennis Championships at the Fertitta Tennis Complex on the campus of UNLV.
Florida, who sent seven to compete in the event, finished with six wins on the singles court while notching one doubles victory.
Sophomore McCartney Kessler and freshman Marlee Zein both finished the day with a pair of wins and will remain active in tomorrow's main draw.
Kessler, ranked as the No. 2 player in the bracket, put together a strong showing as she won both matches in straight sets.
Zein, one of three Gator freshmen to make the journey out west, posted an impressive win in her first match as she knocked Pepperdine's Ashley Lahey, who was the runner-up at the 2018 NCAA Singles Championship. Zein dropped the first set to the two-time ITA All-American but battled back to win the second and claim a 7-4 win in the third set tie breaker. Zein carried the momentum into her round of 16 matchup, registering a 6-3, 7-5 victory.
Freshmen Anastasia Kharitonova and Sydney Berlin, who both joined the team at semester, made their Gator debuts and earned valuable experience as they saw their first collegiate action.
Tsveta Dimitrova and Ida Jarlskog, who finished the fall ranked No. 41 in ITA doubles, impressed with a 6-1 win in their lone action of the day on the doubles circuit.
Day two of the Freeman Memorial kicks off Saturday with the doubles quarterfinals at 1 p.m. ET.
Quotes from the Court –Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the play of freshman Marlee Zein…
"Marlee has looked really good in practice. Her energy and her focus have been much better in the two weeks here in the spring than they were in the fall. My goodness, she played like a different player today so that was clearly the highlight of the day. She played really well from both a physical and mental perspective."
On the team's overall play…
"I thought a few of us struggled a little bit today. For the new players it was the first time getting to play at the collegiate level. We anticipated that coming in, but they had good attitudes and fought hard. I thought everybody else did a good job of doing that too, having not competed in months. I thought we ended the day playing much better than we started. So hopefully the trend will continue throughout the weekend."
"We just need matches and that's what we are getting here. I thought we had some mixed results but I'm pretty upbeat about our team. Tournaments like this are all about getting matches and just getting out there and competing. It's good for us coaches to see the new players and to see what they like and don't like so by the time we play next we are a little sturdier and more competitive."
On the team's play on the doubles court...
"Tsveta (Dimitrova) and Ida (Jarlskog) played at a really high level. They played like they ended the fall. For our other pairings, result wise they didn't win but we saw some things that we can work with and continue to get better at. I thought everyone communicated well and that's a big factor in having good doubles teams. I think we will play a lot better tomorrow."
Results Friday, Jan. 18
Doubles Round One
No. 4 Jarlskog/Dimitrova def. Miller/Johnson (UCLA) | 6-1
Granic/Spasojevic (Texas) def. Kessler/Berlin | 6-3
No. 1 Andrews/Broomfield (UCLA) def. Zein/Kharitonova | 6-0
Singles Round One
Dimitrova def. Kuczer (Pepperdine) | 6-1, 6-5
Markovic (Texas) def. No. 1 Jarlskog | 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Lampl (Stanford) def. Kharitonova | 6-4, 6-1
Asano (UNLV) def. Berlin | 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
Zein def. No. 7 Lahey (Pepperdine) | 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4)
No. 2 Kessler def. Broomfield (UCLA) | 6-3, 6-3
Singles Flight One Round of 16
Zein def. Johnson (UCLA)| 6-3, 7-5
No. 2 Kessler (UF) def. Milovanovic (PEPP) | 6-1, 6-1
Madurawe (STAN) def. Dimitrova | 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Singles Flight One Consolation
No.1 Jarlskog def. Miller (UCLA) | 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-5)
Oullet-Pizer (UNC) def. Berlin | 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 Turati (TX) def. Khartionova | 6-1, 6-2
Singles Flight Two Round One
Andrews (UCLA) def. Kubicz | 6-2, 6-4
Teams competing and current ITA Rankings
Stanford (STAN) 1
North Carolina (UNC) 3
Texas (TX) 6
Pepperdine (PEPP) 7
UCLA (UCLA) 8
Florida (UF) 11
UNLV (UNLV)
Schedule
Saturday
Doubles Quarterfinals 1 p.m. ET
Singles Quarterfinals Follow
Singles Semifinals Follow
Sunday
Doubles Semifinals 1 p.m. ET
Doubles Final Follow
Singles Final Follow
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
Florida, who sent seven to compete in the event, finished with six wins on the singles court while notching one doubles victory.
Sophomore McCartney Kessler and freshman Marlee Zein both finished the day with a pair of wins and will remain active in tomorrow's main draw.
Kessler, ranked as the No. 2 player in the bracket, put together a strong showing as she won both matches in straight sets.
Zein, one of three Gator freshmen to make the journey out west, posted an impressive win in her first match as she knocked Pepperdine's Ashley Lahey, who was the runner-up at the 2018 NCAA Singles Championship. Zein dropped the first set to the two-time ITA All-American but battled back to win the second and claim a 7-4 win in the third set tie breaker. Zein carried the momentum into her round of 16 matchup, registering a 6-3, 7-5 victory.
Freshmen Anastasia Kharitonova and Sydney Berlin, who both joined the team at semester, made their Gator debuts and earned valuable experience as they saw their first collegiate action.
Tsveta Dimitrova and Ida Jarlskog, who finished the fall ranked No. 41 in ITA doubles, impressed with a 6-1 win in their lone action of the day on the doubles circuit.
Day two of the Freeman Memorial kicks off Saturday with the doubles quarterfinals at 1 p.m. ET.
Quotes from the Court –Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the play of freshman Marlee Zein…
"Marlee has looked really good in practice. Her energy and her focus have been much better in the two weeks here in the spring than they were in the fall. My goodness, she played like a different player today so that was clearly the highlight of the day. She played really well from both a physical and mental perspective."
On the team's overall play…
"I thought a few of us struggled a little bit today. For the new players it was the first time getting to play at the collegiate level. We anticipated that coming in, but they had good attitudes and fought hard. I thought everybody else did a good job of doing that too, having not competed in months. I thought we ended the day playing much better than we started. So hopefully the trend will continue throughout the weekend."
"We just need matches and that's what we are getting here. I thought we had some mixed results but I'm pretty upbeat about our team. Tournaments like this are all about getting matches and just getting out there and competing. It's good for us coaches to see the new players and to see what they like and don't like so by the time we play next we are a little sturdier and more competitive."
On the team's play on the doubles court...
"Tsveta (Dimitrova) and Ida (Jarlskog) played at a really high level. They played like they ended the fall. For our other pairings, result wise they didn't win but we saw some things that we can work with and continue to get better at. I thought everyone communicated well and that's a big factor in having good doubles teams. I think we will play a lot better tomorrow."
Results Friday, Jan. 18
Doubles Round One
No. 4 Jarlskog/Dimitrova def. Miller/Johnson (UCLA) | 6-1
Granic/Spasojevic (Texas) def. Kessler/Berlin | 6-3
No. 1 Andrews/Broomfield (UCLA) def. Zein/Kharitonova | 6-0
Singles Round One
Dimitrova def. Kuczer (Pepperdine) | 6-1, 6-5
Markovic (Texas) def. No. 1 Jarlskog | 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Lampl (Stanford) def. Kharitonova | 6-4, 6-1
Asano (UNLV) def. Berlin | 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
Zein def. No. 7 Lahey (Pepperdine) | 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4)
No. 2 Kessler def. Broomfield (UCLA) | 6-3, 6-3
Singles Flight One Round of 16
Zein def. Johnson (UCLA)| 6-3, 7-5
No. 2 Kessler (UF) def. Milovanovic (PEPP) | 6-1, 6-1
Madurawe (STAN) def. Dimitrova | 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Singles Flight One Consolation
No.1 Jarlskog def. Miller (UCLA) | 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-5)
Oullet-Pizer (UNC) def. Berlin | 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 Turati (TX) def. Khartionova | 6-1, 6-2
Singles Flight Two Round One
Andrews (UCLA) def. Kubicz | 6-2, 6-4
Teams competing and current ITA Rankings
Stanford (STAN) 1
North Carolina (UNC) 3
Texas (TX) 6
Pepperdine (PEPP) 7
UCLA (UCLA) 8
Florida (UF) 11
UNLV (UNLV)
Schedule
Saturday
Doubles Quarterfinals 1 p.m. ET
Singles Quarterfinals Follow
Singles Semifinals Follow
Sunday
Doubles Semifinals 1 p.m. ET
Doubles Final Follow
Singles Final Follow
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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