Saturday, April 13
Gainesville, FL
10 AM
Florida Gators
vs
South Carolina
No. 26 Gators Host No. 5 Gamecocks in Regular Season Finale
Friday, April 12, 2019 | Women's Tennis
Women’s tennis to take on South Carolina in final test before conference tournament
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 26 University of Florida women's tennis team (11-9, 7-5) wraps up its 2019 regular season Saturday, April 13 when it hosts No. 5 South Carolina for a 10 a.m. match at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. As part of #WeChompWeekend (April 10-14), Florida's campus will feature nine different Gators sports events, highlighted by the Orange & Blue Game, Presented by Sunniland, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 13.
Note: With the #OBGame kicking off at 1 p.m. parking may be limited. Please make sure to review all of the parking info for Saturday's events here.
As part of the special early morning match time, there will be free donuts for fans while supplies last.
Match Notes
The Gators return to the courts after recording a dramatic, come-from-behind victory over No. 14 Michigan Thursday evening. Trailing 3-1 and with Michigan's Giulia Pairone leading 5-4 in what would have been the deciding set on court two, the Gators recorded three-straight singles wins capped off by No. 37 McCartney Kessler's match clincher. No. 75 Pairone led 40-15 in what looked to be the final game of set two, but the sophomore rallied back to give the Gators life. After Kessler fought off Pairone in a critical second set, she paved the way for Marlee Zein who tallied UF's first singles win with a 7-5, 6-1 victory on court four. Tsveta Dimitrova followed Zein's lead with her come-from-behind victory on court five.
The Gators feature three in the ITA top 100 with No. 10 Ida Jarlskog, No. 37 Kessler and No. 94 Victoria Emma all cracking the rankings. Four Florida players have recorded eight or more dual singles wins, paced by the sophomore Jarlskog's 12.
Kessler, who continues to battle an injury, added her fifth victory over a ranked opponent with her win Thursday. Dimitrova, competing primarily at No. 5 this season, has won three of her last four matches.
Florida claimed the doubles point vs. Michigan as it won doubles in back-to-back matches for the first time since March 8 at Arkansas and March 10 at Missouri. No. 51 Kessler and Emma continue to excel at No. 1 as they have won two in a row and lead the team with six SEC victories.
No. 5 South Carolina (16-3, 11-1) enters the weekend riding a six match winning streak and is in sole possession of second place in the SEC standings. No. 4 Ingrid Gamarra Martins, No. 28 Paige Cline and No. 102 Mia Horvit represent South Carolina in the ITA rankings in singles. Horvit and Gamarra Martins are the nation's No. 2 doubles unit and have posted an 11-2 record in the dual match season.
Florida leads the series between the programs 44-2 and has posted a 19-0 mark in matches played in Gainesville. A season ago Florida posted a 4-2 victory on the road at South Carolina which was ranked No. 5 at the time.
Depending on this weekend's SEC results, Florida can finish as high as fifth and as low as seventh in the SEC standings. The Gators enter the weekend in sixth and Kentucky (7-4) and Texas A&M (7-4) sit in a tie for fifth. Both the Wildcats and Aggies have two remaining league matchups compared to Florida's one. Florida owns the tiebreaker over Texas A&M but not Kentucky.
Following Saturday's contest, Florida will return to action Thursday, April 18 when it competes in the SEC Tournament in College Station, Texas hosted by Texas A&M. Florida's opponent will be decided following the conclusion of Sunday's league bouts.
Note: Head Coach Roland Thornqvist announced Friday morning that the team's upcoming match vs. Savannah State has been canceled. The match, originally slated for 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, was a late addition to the schedule.
Match Info
Matchup: No. 26 Florida (11-9, 7-5) vs. No. 5 South Carolina (16-3, 11-1)
Date: Saturday, April 13
Time: 10 a.m. ET
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Live Stats
Live stream
Twitter Updates
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
Note: With the #OBGame kicking off at 1 p.m. parking may be limited. Please make sure to review all of the parking info for Saturday's events here.
As part of the special early morning match time, there will be free donuts for fans while supplies last.
Match Notes
The Gators return to the courts after recording a dramatic, come-from-behind victory over No. 14 Michigan Thursday evening. Trailing 3-1 and with Michigan's Giulia Pairone leading 5-4 in what would have been the deciding set on court two, the Gators recorded three-straight singles wins capped off by No. 37 McCartney Kessler's match clincher. No. 75 Pairone led 40-15 in what looked to be the final game of set two, but the sophomore rallied back to give the Gators life. After Kessler fought off Pairone in a critical second set, she paved the way for Marlee Zein who tallied UF's first singles win with a 7-5, 6-1 victory on court four. Tsveta Dimitrova followed Zein's lead with her come-from-behind victory on court five.
The Gators feature three in the ITA top 100 with No. 10 Ida Jarlskog, No. 37 Kessler and No. 94 Victoria Emma all cracking the rankings. Four Florida players have recorded eight or more dual singles wins, paced by the sophomore Jarlskog's 12.
Kessler, who continues to battle an injury, added her fifth victory over a ranked opponent with her win Thursday. Dimitrova, competing primarily at No. 5 this season, has won three of her last four matches.
Florida claimed the doubles point vs. Michigan as it won doubles in back-to-back matches for the first time since March 8 at Arkansas and March 10 at Missouri. No. 51 Kessler and Emma continue to excel at No. 1 as they have won two in a row and lead the team with six SEC victories.
No. 5 South Carolina (16-3, 11-1) enters the weekend riding a six match winning streak and is in sole possession of second place in the SEC standings. No. 4 Ingrid Gamarra Martins, No. 28 Paige Cline and No. 102 Mia Horvit represent South Carolina in the ITA rankings in singles. Horvit and Gamarra Martins are the nation's No. 2 doubles unit and have posted an 11-2 record in the dual match season.
Florida leads the series between the programs 44-2 and has posted a 19-0 mark in matches played in Gainesville. A season ago Florida posted a 4-2 victory on the road at South Carolina which was ranked No. 5 at the time.
Depending on this weekend's SEC results, Florida can finish as high as fifth and as low as seventh in the SEC standings. The Gators enter the weekend in sixth and Kentucky (7-4) and Texas A&M (7-4) sit in a tie for fifth. Both the Wildcats and Aggies have two remaining league matchups compared to Florida's one. Florida owns the tiebreaker over Texas A&M but not Kentucky.
Following Saturday's contest, Florida will return to action Thursday, April 18 when it competes in the SEC Tournament in College Station, Texas hosted by Texas A&M. Florida's opponent will be decided following the conclusion of Sunday's league bouts.
Note: Head Coach Roland Thornqvist announced Friday morning that the team's upcoming match vs. Savannah State has been canceled. The match, originally slated for 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, was a late addition to the schedule.
Match Info
Matchup: No. 26 Florida (11-9, 7-5) vs. No. 5 South Carolina (16-3, 11-1)
Date: Saturday, April 13
Time: 10 a.m. ET
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Live Stats
Live stream
Twitter Updates
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
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