Friday, March 1
Gainesville, FL
5 PM
Florida Gators
4
vs
1
Ole Miss
Gators Defeat Ole Miss in SEC Opener
Friday, March 1, 2019 | Women's Tennis
Women's tennis opens conference season with 4-1 victory over Rebels.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 43 University of Florida women's team opened its conference season in the win column as it earned a 4-1 victory over visiting Ole Miss Friday evening at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
Sophomore Ida Jarlskog provided the match-clinching victory from court one in dramatic fashion as she battled back for a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 win. Jarlskog trailed 2-0 in the final set and 40-15 in the final game, but played with great resilience to secure UF's first SEC win of the season.
Freshmen Marlee Zein and Anastasia Kharitonova also added pivotal singles victories while the Gators captured the doubles point for the second straight match.
The Gators got off to a strong start in doubles play as courts three and two came through for the Gators. On court three the freshmen duo of Kharitonova/Zein cruised to a 6-1 win while Jarlskog and Tsveta Dimitrova battled to a 6-3 decision. McCartney Kessler and Victoria Emma saw their match go unfinished as they trailed 5-4.
After Ole Miss claimed the initial singles point and tied the tally at 1-1, Zein earned a 6-4, 6-3 on court four to provide the Gators with the advantage. Kharitonova's victory on court six was a momentous one as the Gator rookie nabbed a hard-fought win in a tiebreak to put the Gators ahead 3-1. Kharitonova took the opening set 6-3, but was met with some resistance in set two and fell behind 4-2. Kharitonova responded by battling back to tie it at 6-6 and eventually win in a tiebreak, 7-6.
No. 33 Kessler and No. 52 Emma also saw their respective singles matches go unfinished. Emma's bout went incomplete at 2-6, 6-4, 2-4 while Kessler looked to be in the driver's seat to clinch the match before Jarlskog's break through. Kessler's match stood at 4-6, 6-3, 5-2 when the fourth and deciding point was awarded to the Gators.
Jarlskog leads the squad with six singles victories during dual match play.
Up Next
Sunday, March 3 | 1 p.m. ET
No. 43 Florida (4-4) vs. Mississippi State (9-3)
Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex | Gainesville, Fla.
Doubles Results
Victoria Emma/McCartney Kessler (Florida) vs. No. 58 Tea Jandric/Sabina Machalova, 4-5 unfinished
Ida Jarlskog/Tsveta Dimitrova (Florida) def. Anna Vrbenska/Tereza Janatova, 6-3
Anastasia Kharitonova/Marlee Zein (Florida) def. Alex Bortles/Cameron Kriscunas, 6-1
Doubles Order of Finish: 3,2
Singles Results
No. 12 Ida Jarlskog (Florida) def. No. 125 Sabina Machalova, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
No. 33 McCartney Kessler (Florida) vs. Tea Jandric, 2-6, 6-4, 5-2 (Unfinished)
No. 52 Victoria Emma (Florida) vs. Amma Vrbenska, 2-6, 6-4, 2-4 (Unfinished)
Marlee Zein (Florida) def. Alexa Bortles, 6-4, 6-3
Tereza Janatova def. Tsveta Dimitrova (Florida), 7-5, 0-6
Anastasia Kharitonova (Florida) def. Allie Sanford, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
Singles Order of Finish: 5,4,6,1
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
Overall thoughts on the match and the improvements in the team's play…
"We are starting to see scar tissue we talked about a few weeks ago. We are starting to be tougher, you know, when there are some ups and down or swings in matches when I thought we maybe let down too often in the beginning of the year. Now we've found our legs again and we are discovering that we can win with our minds and our legs. That's a powerful thing to figure out on the court because we have such good athletes. Doubles, I've been saying this for a while now but we are really starting to play well now. No. 3 doubles right now is really powerful and at No. 3 when you have that power and you don't miss much, it's tough to beat. I really thought we were solid in singles up and down. I know McCartney (Kessler) was a point away from finishing and I know she's upset with that, that's tough. I thought Victoria (Emma) did a great job of coming back to win some big sets. After not playing well in the first, she could have easily just went away, but she showed a lot of fortitude to split in the second set. Marlee (Zein) also played really well today. I'm really pleased. Ole Miss is talented and they have veterans that know how to win SEC matches."
On Ida Jarlskog's clutch play from No.1…
"Mentally she's a giant, you see that, but she plays to her strengths too. She took too much risk in the beginning of the third and put the ball right in the other player's strike zone and she was running. Then she took less risk at the end of the set and used her legs which is her strength. She can do both and when she makes the decision to do the correct thing, she becomes a tough out."
On the growth of Anastasia Kharitonova's play…
"When she came here we knew she was tremendously talented. I thought just watching her play early in the year that her world was just spinning for a few weeks. It's her first time away from home, there's a language barrier, new coaches and new teammates but now it is starting to slow down for her. We are starting to see what kind of talent she is. She has a huge game. I was hoping to see it at some point this semester, but frankly it is starting to come perhaps a little sooner than we anticipated but boy it's good for the Gators."
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Sophomore Ida Jarlskog provided the match-clinching victory from court one in dramatic fashion as she battled back for a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 win. Jarlskog trailed 2-0 in the final set and 40-15 in the final game, but played with great resilience to secure UF's first SEC win of the season.
Freshmen Marlee Zein and Anastasia Kharitonova also added pivotal singles victories while the Gators captured the doubles point for the second straight match.
The Gators got off to a strong start in doubles play as courts three and two came through for the Gators. On court three the freshmen duo of Kharitonova/Zein cruised to a 6-1 win while Jarlskog and Tsveta Dimitrova battled to a 6-3 decision. McCartney Kessler and Victoria Emma saw their match go unfinished as they trailed 5-4.
After Ole Miss claimed the initial singles point and tied the tally at 1-1, Zein earned a 6-4, 6-3 on court four to provide the Gators with the advantage. Kharitonova's victory on court six was a momentous one as the Gator rookie nabbed a hard-fought win in a tiebreak to put the Gators ahead 3-1. Kharitonova took the opening set 6-3, but was met with some resistance in set two and fell behind 4-2. Kharitonova responded by battling back to tie it at 6-6 and eventually win in a tiebreak, 7-6.
No. 33 Kessler and No. 52 Emma also saw their respective singles matches go unfinished. Emma's bout went incomplete at 2-6, 6-4, 2-4 while Kessler looked to be in the driver's seat to clinch the match before Jarlskog's break through. Kessler's match stood at 4-6, 6-3, 5-2 when the fourth and deciding point was awarded to the Gators.
Jarlskog leads the squad with six singles victories during dual match play.
Up Next
Sunday, March 3 | 1 p.m. ET
No. 43 Florida (4-4) vs. Mississippi State (9-3)
Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex | Gainesville, Fla.
Doubles Results
Victoria Emma/McCartney Kessler (Florida) vs. No. 58 Tea Jandric/Sabina Machalova, 4-5 unfinished
Ida Jarlskog/Tsveta Dimitrova (Florida) def. Anna Vrbenska/Tereza Janatova, 6-3
Anastasia Kharitonova/Marlee Zein (Florida) def. Alex Bortles/Cameron Kriscunas, 6-1
Doubles Order of Finish: 3,2
Singles Results
No. 12 Ida Jarlskog (Florida) def. No. 125 Sabina Machalova, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
No. 33 McCartney Kessler (Florida) vs. Tea Jandric, 2-6, 6-4, 5-2 (Unfinished)
No. 52 Victoria Emma (Florida) vs. Amma Vrbenska, 2-6, 6-4, 2-4 (Unfinished)
Marlee Zein (Florida) def. Alexa Bortles, 6-4, 6-3
Tereza Janatova def. Tsveta Dimitrova (Florida), 7-5, 0-6
Anastasia Kharitonova (Florida) def. Allie Sanford, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
Singles Order of Finish: 5,4,6,1
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
Overall thoughts on the match and the improvements in the team's play…
"We are starting to see scar tissue we talked about a few weeks ago. We are starting to be tougher, you know, when there are some ups and down or swings in matches when I thought we maybe let down too often in the beginning of the year. Now we've found our legs again and we are discovering that we can win with our minds and our legs. That's a powerful thing to figure out on the court because we have such good athletes. Doubles, I've been saying this for a while now but we are really starting to play well now. No. 3 doubles right now is really powerful and at No. 3 when you have that power and you don't miss much, it's tough to beat. I really thought we were solid in singles up and down. I know McCartney (Kessler) was a point away from finishing and I know she's upset with that, that's tough. I thought Victoria (Emma) did a great job of coming back to win some big sets. After not playing well in the first, she could have easily just went away, but she showed a lot of fortitude to split in the second set. Marlee (Zein) also played really well today. I'm really pleased. Ole Miss is talented and they have veterans that know how to win SEC matches."
On Ida Jarlskog's clutch play from No.1…
"Mentally she's a giant, you see that, but she plays to her strengths too. She took too much risk in the beginning of the third and put the ball right in the other player's strike zone and she was running. Then she took less risk at the end of the set and used her legs which is her strength. She can do both and when she makes the decision to do the correct thing, she becomes a tough out."
On the growth of Anastasia Kharitonova's play…
"When she came here we knew she was tremendously talented. I thought just watching her play early in the year that her world was just spinning for a few weeks. It's her first time away from home, there's a language barrier, new coaches and new teammates but now it is starting to slow down for her. We are starting to see what kind of talent she is. She has a huge game. I was hoping to see it at some point this semester, but frankly it is starting to come perhaps a little sooner than we anticipated but boy it's good for the Gators."
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
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Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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