Sunday, March 10
Columbia, MO
1 PM
Florida Gators
4
at
1
Missouri
Gators Sweep SEC Road Swing with 4-1 Win at Mizzou
Sunday, March 10, 2019 | Women's Tennis
Women's tennis claims second straight road win, improves to 3-1 in conference play with victory Sunday.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 45 University of Florida women's tennis team registered a 4-1 win over No. 41 Missouri Sunday afternoon at the Mizzou Tennis Complex as it picked up its second straight road victory over a top 50 foe.
Redshirt-junior Tsveta Dimitrova clinched the match for Florida with a 6-1, 6-4 victory on court five to propel the Gators to their second conference win of the weekend.
No. 12 Ida Jarlskog and No. 44 McCartney Kessler also picked up singles wins while Victoria Emma and Sydney Berlin, competing at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively, saw their matches go unfinished.
Florida began the afternoon by claiming its fifth straight doubles point and its fourth in as many conference contests.
The Gators fell behind early in doubles as Anastasia Kharitonova and Marlee Zein saw their three-match winning streak come to an end with a 6-3 loss to Marta Oliveiria and Risa Fukutoku. Florida responded quickly with victories on courts one and two to claim the opening point. Jarlskog/Dimitrova notched a 6-2 win while Kessler/Emma improved to 3-0 in SEC doubles play with a 6-4 win. The sophomore duo fell behind 3-2 early but surged back to earn the come-from-behind win.
In singles, Kessler opened the scoring with a 6-3, 6-2 win from the No. 2 spot and Jarlskog followed that up with a 7-5, 6-2 win on court one to give Florida the 3-0 edge. Jarlskog faced a 4-0 deficit in the first set but showed great resiliency to earn her team-best eighth dual match victory.
With the Gators leading 3-0, Missouri claimed court four as Ellie Wright recorded a three-set win over Zein 6-4, 5-7, 7-5. The Tigers looked to be in position to register a second win as Lisa Fukutoku led No. 52 Emma late in the third set. But before that match would finish, Dimitrova finished off her two-set winner on court five to clinch the match for the Gators.
After its road swing, Florida returns to Gainesville to host a pair of matches this coming weekend.
Up Next
Friday, March 15 | 5 p.m. ET
No. 45 Florida (6-5, 3-1) vs. No. 2 Georgia (10-0, 2-0)
Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex | Gainesville, Fla.
No. 45 Florida at No. 41 Missouri
Doubles Results
Victoria Emma/McCartney Kessler (Florida) def. No. 65 Mackenzie Middlebrooks/Ellie Wright, 6-4
Ida Jarlskog/Tsveta Dimitrova (Florida) def. Gabrielle Goldin/Taylor Gruber, 6-3
Marta Oliveria/Risa Fukutoku def. Marlee Zein/Anastasia Kharitonova (Florida), 6-3
Doubles order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles Result
No. 12 Ida Jarlskog (Florida) No. 97 Mackenzy Middlebrooks, 7-5, 6-4
No. 44 McCartney Kessler (Florida) def. Serena Nash, 6-3, 6-2
No. 52 Victoria Emma (Florida) vs. Risa Fukutoku, 6-7, 7-6, 2-5 (Unfinished)
Ellie Wright def. Marlee Zein (Florida), 6-4, 5-7, 7-5
Tsveta Dimitrova (Florida) def. Taylor Gruber, 6-1, 6-4
Sydney Berlin (Florida) vs. Vivien Abraham, 4-3 (Unfinished)
Singles order of finish: 2, 1, 4, 5
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
Overall thoughts on match…
"I think we all know that that there is a lot parity in this league and on this team as well. We are going to have a lot of close sets and we are definitely getting better at closing them out. With how close a lot of the courts were today, it was imperative that we stayed focused and closed out strong. I'm pleased with the way we remained locked in and competed today."
On doubles play…
"Getting the doubles point can really give you a boost, and you saw that today. It's important to get off to a strong start, it's not the end all be all, but it definitely helps. It's a different ball game obviously when you need victories on only three singles courts instead of four. I really liked the way we competed in doubles today and I think it helped set the tone."
On Tsveta Dimitrova clinching the win…
"I'm proud of the way she played today. She played almost flawlessly to get out to the early lead and win the first set. She built a lead in the second set but then Missouri really got hot. I was proud of the way she handled herself after Missouri came back and she was serving up 5-4. She stayed focused and stayed within herself and that was great to see."
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Redshirt-junior Tsveta Dimitrova clinched the match for Florida with a 6-1, 6-4 victory on court five to propel the Gators to their second conference win of the weekend.
No. 12 Ida Jarlskog and No. 44 McCartney Kessler also picked up singles wins while Victoria Emma and Sydney Berlin, competing at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively, saw their matches go unfinished.
Florida began the afternoon by claiming its fifth straight doubles point and its fourth in as many conference contests.
The Gators fell behind early in doubles as Anastasia Kharitonova and Marlee Zein saw their three-match winning streak come to an end with a 6-3 loss to Marta Oliveiria and Risa Fukutoku. Florida responded quickly with victories on courts one and two to claim the opening point. Jarlskog/Dimitrova notched a 6-2 win while Kessler/Emma improved to 3-0 in SEC doubles play with a 6-4 win. The sophomore duo fell behind 3-2 early but surged back to earn the come-from-behind win.
In singles, Kessler opened the scoring with a 6-3, 6-2 win from the No. 2 spot and Jarlskog followed that up with a 7-5, 6-2 win on court one to give Florida the 3-0 edge. Jarlskog faced a 4-0 deficit in the first set but showed great resiliency to earn her team-best eighth dual match victory.
With the Gators leading 3-0, Missouri claimed court four as Ellie Wright recorded a three-set win over Zein 6-4, 5-7, 7-5. The Tigers looked to be in position to register a second win as Lisa Fukutoku led No. 52 Emma late in the third set. But before that match would finish, Dimitrova finished off her two-set winner on court five to clinch the match for the Gators.
After its road swing, Florida returns to Gainesville to host a pair of matches this coming weekend.
Up Next
Friday, March 15 | 5 p.m. ET
No. 45 Florida (6-5, 3-1) vs. No. 2 Georgia (10-0, 2-0)
Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex | Gainesville, Fla.
No. 45 Florida at No. 41 Missouri
Doubles Results
Victoria Emma/McCartney Kessler (Florida) def. No. 65 Mackenzie Middlebrooks/Ellie Wright, 6-4
Ida Jarlskog/Tsveta Dimitrova (Florida) def. Gabrielle Goldin/Taylor Gruber, 6-3
Marta Oliveria/Risa Fukutoku def. Marlee Zein/Anastasia Kharitonova (Florida), 6-3
Doubles order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles Result
No. 12 Ida Jarlskog (Florida) No. 97 Mackenzy Middlebrooks, 7-5, 6-4
No. 44 McCartney Kessler (Florida) def. Serena Nash, 6-3, 6-2
No. 52 Victoria Emma (Florida) vs. Risa Fukutoku, 6-7, 7-6, 2-5 (Unfinished)
Ellie Wright def. Marlee Zein (Florida), 6-4, 5-7, 7-5
Tsveta Dimitrova (Florida) def. Taylor Gruber, 6-1, 6-4
Sydney Berlin (Florida) vs. Vivien Abraham, 4-3 (Unfinished)
Singles order of finish: 2, 1, 4, 5
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
Overall thoughts on match…
"I think we all know that that there is a lot parity in this league and on this team as well. We are going to have a lot of close sets and we are definitely getting better at closing them out. With how close a lot of the courts were today, it was imperative that we stayed focused and closed out strong. I'm pleased with the way we remained locked in and competed today."
On doubles play…
"Getting the doubles point can really give you a boost, and you saw that today. It's important to get off to a strong start, it's not the end all be all, but it definitely helps. It's a different ball game obviously when you need victories on only three singles courts instead of four. I really liked the way we competed in doubles today and I think it helped set the tone."
On Tsveta Dimitrova clinching the win…
"I'm proud of the way she played today. She played almost flawlessly to get out to the early lead and win the first set. She built a lead in the second set but then Missouri really got hot. I was proud of the way she handled herself after Missouri came back and she was serving up 5-4. She stayed focused and stayed within herself and that was great to see."
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JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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