Florida Gators

Results 

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 23 University of Florida women's tennis team (10-9, 7-5) overcame a 2-1 deficit and returned to its winning ways with a 4-2 victory over No. 49 Auburn (13-13, 0-11) Sunday afternoon at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.

Florida had its backs up against the wall trailing 2-1, but rattled off three-straight singles wins capped off by No. 8 Ida Jarlskog, who clinched the match for the Gators with an impressive 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 103 Jaeda Daniel on court one. Sydney Berlin and No. 78 Victoria Emma accounted for UF's other two singles wins as the Gators improved to 10-9 and 7-5 in SEC play.

The Gators pushed their record above .500 which looms large with only two regular season matches and the conference tournament still remaining on the docket.

Securing the doubles point for just the second time in its last five matches, Florida earned the opening tally with victories on court one and court three. Marlee Zein and Berlin won for the second time in their last three matches with a 6-3 victory over Alannah Griffin and Caroline Turner. After missing Friday's contest, McCartney Kessler returned in doubles competition to join her counterpart, Emma. No. 65 Emma/Kessler fell behind early 0-2, but rallied back to clinch the doubles point with a 6-4 victory over Madeline Meredith and Taylor Russo. Jarlskog and Tsveta Dimitrova saw their match go unfinished with them leading 5-3.

Despite its strong start in doubles play, Florida's lead wouldn't last long as Auburn struck first with singles victories on courts six and three in straight sets. Kubicz, appearing at No. 6 for the second straight match, fell 6-1, 6-0 while Zein suffered a 6-4, 6-1 setback from No. 3.

Trailing 2-1 and with Auburn beginning to harness the match's momentum, No. 78 Emma notched the equalizing point with a three-set winner on court two. The sophomore played with great pace and focus and closed out her match with a 6-0 triumph in the deciding frame. Emma, recording her second straight win, defeated Madeline Meredith, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.

Berlin then pulled out a crucial win on court five to put the Gators ahead 3-2. The freshman, who picked up her third straight win, battled to a 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) win in a nail biter vs. Yu Chen.

Now with just two courts remaining the focus gravitated to courts one and four where Jarlskog and Dimitrova held leads in their third sets. Jarlskog, who dropped her first set 6-3, stormed back to claim 6-2, 6-2 verdicts in the final two sets. Earning her ninth victory over a ranked opponent this season, Jarlskog put together a gritty performance to secure her team-best 12^th dual match win of the season.

Dimitrova, who looked to be on track to nab her second victory of the weekend, saw her match go unfinished at 6-3, 4-6, 5-4.

Florida improved to 5-4 when winning the doubles point.

Florida resumes action Thursday, April 11 when it hosts No. 18 Michigan in a non-conference clash. The Gators conclude the 2019 dual match regular season Saturday, April 13 when they host South Carolina at 10 a.m.

Up Next
Thursday, April 11 | 5 p.m. ET
No. 23 Florida (10-9, 7-5) vs. vs. No. 18 Michigan (13-4, 9-0)
Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex | Gainesville, Fla.   
 
No. 23 Florida vs. No. 49 Auburn
Doubles Results
No. 65 McCartney Kessler/Victoria Emma def. Madeline Meredith/Taylor Russo, 6-4
Ida Jarlskog/Tsveta Dimitrova (Florida) vs. Jaeda Daniel/Yu Chen, 5-3 (Unfinished)
Marlee Zein/Sydney Berlin (Florida) def. Alannah Griffin/Caroline Turner, 6-2

Doubles order of finish: 3,1
 
Singles Results
No. 8 Ida Jarlskog (Florida) def. No. 103 Jaeda Daniel, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
No. 78 Victoria Emma (Florida) def. Madeline Meredith, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
Taylor Russo def. Marlee Zein (Florida), 6-4, 6-1
Tsveta Dimitrova (Florida) vs. Alannah Griffin, 6-3, 4-6, 5-4 (Unfinished)
Sydney Berlin (Florida) def.  Yu Chen, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4)
Caroline Turner def. Katie Kubicz (Florida) vs.  6-1, 6-0
 
Singles order of finish: 6, 3, 2, 5,1

Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
 
Overall thoughts on match…
"I thought Auburn had fantastic heart and fought so hard. They're coming into this game kind of like a wounded bear having lost that many in a row and they just laid it all on the line. We had so many competitive sets. I was really proud to see Victoria (Emma) win another three-set match. She's really becoming dominant in three-set matches which is a really good sign of competitiveness, will and determination. I thought Sydney (Berlin) was fantastic today too, she's getting better at the end of sets. Ida (Jarlskog) as always fights like crazy and Tsveta (Dimitrova) also played a really strong singles match for us. I thought doubles was much better with McCartney (Kessler) in there. Everyone was locked in at a different level because of that, and it helped us going into singles knowing that we only had to get three wins instead of four. Overall I was pleased, but hopefully we get McCartney back in the singles lineup before long because that makes us a completely different team."

On the play of sophomore Ida Jarlskog at No. 1…
"Ida showed great body language all day. Despite losing the first set, she displayed great focus to come back. She did make one adjustment in her style of play. I thought she was crowding the ball too much, trying to hit the ball too hard in the first set and then she started to let the game come to her. This really made all the difference for her. She let the ball breathe a little bit and this little adjustment made her a lot more difficult to beat."

On the team's focus going forward with just a few regular season matches remaining…
"I was really happy to see that we were able to withstand their best punch and pull out the win. Obviously now we have a short season in which we really need to excel in in order to make the NCAA's. We talked about that in the lockerroom and it's really going to be a mini playoff type scenario going down the stretch."
 
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