All six of Florida's starters down the stretch are set to return in the fall.
New Faces and New Roles, Gators Build Formidable Foundation in 2019
Monday, May 13, 2019 | Women's Tennis
Women's tennis qualified for its 37th NCAA Tournament with a new-look squad that endured some injuries.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – There's no substitute for experience. While four of the six players in the Gators' core lineup possessed past Division I experience, only two of them had suited up in the Florida orange and blue. Going into the season it was clear that UF's 2019 roster was loaded with potential and talent but may lack the continuity and familiarity that Gators teams of the past exuded.
The coaching staff saw skilled players up and down its roster, but was prepared for there to be some growing pains. What they couldn't have been prepared for were the injuries which, along with the usual up and downs of a young team, contributed to UF's slow start out of the gate in the dual season.
Untimely injuries to key players set the team back early, but with any problem comes an opportunity, and those bumps in the road allowed for new players to emerge and elevate themselves into new roles. The development and growth of some of the squad's most inexperienced players proved to be pivotal as Head Coach Roland Thornqvist attributed his team's success late in the season to their maturation and progress.
"We talked in the middle of the season about sort of starting anew and we made some adjustments roster wise. With Sydney (Berlin) coming on half way through the season and play at six, I really feel like our momentum as a team switched and we really started playing our best tennis at the end of the year," Thornqvist said.
After a strong showing in the Freeman Memorial Women's Tennis Championships in what was the final tune-up before the dual match season was to begin, Florida got off to a rocky start by losing two of its first three matches. Although both were against eventual NCAA Tournament squads and both were 4-3 verdicts, Florida's loss to North Carolina State in the ITA Kickoff Championship was a significant one. It meant the Gators would not qualify for the ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships, an event that most years is quite important and provides the team an opportunity to take on some of the nation's most talented programs. While there was certainly some disappointment in the team's inability to secure the bid, Thornqvist also realized that it provided his squad some valuable time to help fight off the injury bug that bit the team early on.
"Missing out on the team indoors is usually a negative because you have a lot of opportunity to play some highly-ranked teams. This year we were injured so in retrospect, not playing in the indoors may have been a good thing. It gave us a little bit of breathing room and get some healthy bodies back on."
As is the team's typical approach, the Gators took on a challenging non-conference slate and were battle tested well before the conference season had even started. While the experience gained was substantial, Florida's record stood at just 3-4 entering SEC action as a result. Five of Florida's first seven opponents ended up earning spots in this season's NCAA Championship and three of them were ranked in the top 30 at the time.
"In general we strive to play as tough a schedule as we can get our hands on because I do think over the course of the season that's going to make us a more competitive team come NCAA Tournament time."
The squad quickly turned the page and responded by winning three of its first four conference matches, including top 50 road wins at Arkansas and Missouri.
The Gators built their record back to above .500 at 6-5.
After falling to No. 2 Georgia 4-1 on March 15, UF earned its first top 25 win when it defeated No. 16 Tennessee two days later.
Finally with some momentum at their backs the Gators were then tasked with a season-long four-match road swing. Facing two top 25 teams, the trip got off to a rocky start as UF fell 4-3 to both Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
"We got to three against virtually everyone and even against Georgia we probably would've gotten to three, but that counts for nothing. You have to get to four."
Facing two more top 25 foes on the road the following weekend, Florida took on a daunting task, but this time flipped the script on the 4-3 narrative. UF rose to the occasion by earning a 4-3 win at No. 23 LSU and a 4-2 win at No. 12 Texas A&M.
Berlin picked up a win in each match and she snapped a lengthy losing streak. After falling out of the Florida rotation earlier in the season, Berlin, one of two players to join the team at semester, really turned the corner around this time as she kicked off what would be a 7-2 close to her rookie season.
"When she arrived here in January, her head was just spinning and she was nervous. She didn't handle the match play that well early on, so we took her out of the lineup. She was really level-headed about it, she understood and agreed with the reasons why. Then we made some roster changes, now she was back in and handled it super. Her attitude towards playing and toughness really improved."
Raising its record above the ever-important .500 line with the wins, Florida returned home to begin a season-ending four-match home swing sporting a 9-8 mark.
Without the services of its No. 2 singles player and No. 1 doubles contributor, McCartney Kessler, UF dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 43 Alabama to begin the stretch. Now 9-9 and with three top 50 opponents remaining on the schedule, including two in the top 15, the Gators were in hot water and their hopes to qualify for the program's 37th NCAA Championship took a considerable hit.
Just as it had done on several occasions when facing adversity throughout the season, Florida responded.
This time, needing two wins in their final three matches, the Gators took care of No. 49 Auburn 4-2 and secured NCAA Championship eligibility with a momentous 4-3 win over No. 14 Michigan on April 11. 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 rattled off three-straight singles wins to snap the Wolverines' eight-match winning streak. Kessler, who hadn't appeared in a singles match since March 31 at Texas A&M due to injury, earned the match-clinching win when she dispatched No. 75 Pairone, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4.
"That was huge for us. I think Dave and I really enjoyed seeing that from McCartney. At that point we really needed that match. We hadn't really talked to the team about the significance of winning or losing that match, but in retrospect that really helped us and gave us some breathing room in terms of the NCAA Tournament."
UF's wins over Auburn and Michigan pushed its record to 11-9, ensuring that even with a loss to a really tough South Carolina team in its season finale and a loss in the first round of the conference tournament, that it would be eligible for to qualify for its 32nd-straight NCAA Tournament.
"Obviously we had to beat Michigan here at home, which was a formidable task, in order to feel good about our NCAA qualification. I thought that was a big step forward for this group."
With a new sense of swagger, Florida played a gritty match against No. 5 South Carolina on the following Saturday, but dropped a close 4-2 contest to the Gamecocks in final test before the postseason.
UF was assigned the No. 7 seed in the SEC Tournament and battled No. 10 Ole Miss in the first round. After a few weather delays, Florida held on for the 4-2 win as freshman Marlee Zein came through for her third match-clinching win of the season.
With the victory, Florida advanced to the event's quarterfinal round where it would square off with South Carolina for the second time in six days. The Gators gave the Gamecocks all they could handle but couldn't come through in the end, falling 4-3 as they competed in their 10th 4-3 match of the season.
When its name was called on selection Monday, Florida learned that it would be traveling away from Gainesville for the NCAA first and second rounds for the first time in 20 years. The Gators hit the road for Lawrence, Kansas.
Taking on Boston College for the first time in program history, the Gators made quick work of their ACC foe, cruising to a 4-1 win over the Eagles in the first round.
Florida looked to have a path to victory in the regional final vs. host Kansas but the ball didn't bounce its way late and the Gators fell 4-2.
"I thought we improved from the fall to the start of January and then to May. We got better. Our culture here got better, our practice habits and attitudes in practice improved. That's what you look for. It's not easy to come in with a bunch of youngsters with the high expectations this team always has and they frankly put on themselves. The outside world always expects Florida to perform at a high level and when you have some initial setbacks like we did there in January and February it can be really tough as a competitor here to keep a level head. We try to think long term but train short term. That's what we try to do with these athletes."
Despite finishing 13-12 overall, Florida completed the season with an impressive resume as it added 10 top 50 wins and maintained a top 50 ITA ranking for the duration of the campaign.
The Gators featured one of the nation's most-challenging schedules and battled 16-straight ranked opponents to finish the season.
From an individual perspective, Florida also achieved success as it had three receive SEC postseason awards and three singles players and a doubles team featured in the ITA rankings for the majority of the season.
Sophomore Ida Jarlskog, one of the team's two transfers, enjoyed an excellent first season of competition with the Gators. She competed for the majority of the season at the top spot in singles, finished a team-best 14-6, and was named All-SEC First Team.
"It was a big jump for Ida, clearly. She came from playing No. 4 at Georgia Tech, even though they made it to the semifinals last year, the quality of the players you end up playing at the top spot in the SEC each and every day is very high. She did a fabulous job. She trained to prepare for it and was clearly our hardest worker. She's a great example for our younger players of when you work hard and have the right mindset in practice then ultimately, even if it takes a little while, it pays off in this sport."
Kessler finished with the second most dual match wins with 13 and earned All-SEC Second Team status despite missing time due to injury. She rounded into form late, winning her last four matches overall.
"McCartney has always been a tremendous competitor. That was one of the things that really attracted us to her at an early stage in her junior career. She's improved a lot tennis wise, her skill level has really improved. This year playing at No. 2, she was injured a few times and that set her back, but when she's healthy she hits the ball as clean as anyone. She has the right mentality and knows the Florida way and if she's the last one standing for us in a 3-3 match, I feel really good about our chances."
Berlin was quite a story for the Gators as the Sweden native came on strong down the stretch, finishing 4-2 in SEC play and winning four of her final five bouts.
"It was just a great turnaround story as far as I'm concerned, which is very difficult to do for someone who is a young freshman coming in her first semester here at Florida. Putting on the shirt for the first time, that can really weigh on you. I thought she was magnificent at the end of the year and that was one of the biggest reasons for our improved play at the end of the year."
Zein, Berlin's partner at No. 3 doubles for the stretch run, also enjoyed a very strong debut campaign. She finished her first season in Gainesville with 11 singles wins and 10 doubles victories. The Texas native competed mostly at No. 4 singles but also played six matches at No. 3 when injuries caused the Florida rotation to shuffle. She brought home two SEC Freshman of the Week accolades and was tabbed to the SEC All-Freshman team at the end of the season.
"In the fall, I pulled Marlee aside and I told her that she probably had the greatest opportunity to be our most improved player from start to finish this year. Although she got off to a little bit a slow start in the fall in practice and competition, she really turned it on in the spring. You could see that she's the kind of player who really enjoys the team aspect of what we do. Not only did her ability to win and play well improve but her practice habits improved too."
Jarlskog, Kessler, Berlin and Zein are all slated to return to the Swamp along with rising junior Victoria Emma and soon-to-be senior Tsveta Dimitrova. Emma held a top 125 ITA singles ranking for eight weeks during the season and paired with Kessler to form UF's No. 1 doubles pairing while Dimitrova, a two-time First Team All-American Athletic Conference at Houston, showed many moments of promising play throughout the season and paired with Jarlskog to claim 10 doubles wins.
"We got better as the season went along. This year handling it the way we did, coupled with hopefully some great play this summer, I think there's no telling how we much we can improve to next year."
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
The coaching staff saw skilled players up and down its roster, but was prepared for there to be some growing pains. What they couldn't have been prepared for were the injuries which, along with the usual up and downs of a young team, contributed to UF's slow start out of the gate in the dual season.
Untimely injuries to key players set the team back early, but with any problem comes an opportunity, and those bumps in the road allowed for new players to emerge and elevate themselves into new roles. The development and growth of some of the squad's most inexperienced players proved to be pivotal as Head Coach Roland Thornqvist attributed his team's success late in the season to their maturation and progress.
"We talked in the middle of the season about sort of starting anew and we made some adjustments roster wise. With Sydney (Berlin) coming on half way through the season and play at six, I really feel like our momentum as a team switched and we really started playing our best tennis at the end of the year," Thornqvist said.
After a strong showing in the Freeman Memorial Women's Tennis Championships in what was the final tune-up before the dual match season was to begin, Florida got off to a rocky start by losing two of its first three matches. Although both were against eventual NCAA Tournament squads and both were 4-3 verdicts, Florida's loss to North Carolina State in the ITA Kickoff Championship was a significant one. It meant the Gators would not qualify for the ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships, an event that most years is quite important and provides the team an opportunity to take on some of the nation's most talented programs. While there was certainly some disappointment in the team's inability to secure the bid, Thornqvist also realized that it provided his squad some valuable time to help fight off the injury bug that bit the team early on.
"Missing out on the team indoors is usually a negative because you have a lot of opportunity to play some highly-ranked teams. This year we were injured so in retrospect, not playing in the indoors may have been a good thing. It gave us a little bit of breathing room and get some healthy bodies back on."
As is the team's typical approach, the Gators took on a challenging non-conference slate and were battle tested well before the conference season had even started. While the experience gained was substantial, Florida's record stood at just 3-4 entering SEC action as a result. Five of Florida's first seven opponents ended up earning spots in this season's NCAA Championship and three of them were ranked in the top 30 at the time.
"In general we strive to play as tough a schedule as we can get our hands on because I do think over the course of the season that's going to make us a more competitive team come NCAA Tournament time."
The squad quickly turned the page and responded by winning three of its first four conference matches, including top 50 road wins at Arkansas and Missouri.
The Gators built their record back to above .500 at 6-5.
After falling to No. 2 Georgia 4-1 on March 15, UF earned its first top 25 win when it defeated No. 16 Tennessee two days later.
Finally with some momentum at their backs the Gators were then tasked with a season-long four-match road swing. Facing two top 25 teams, the trip got off to a rocky start as UF fell 4-3 to both Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
"We got to three against virtually everyone and even against Georgia we probably would've gotten to three, but that counts for nothing. You have to get to four."
Facing two more top 25 foes on the road the following weekend, Florida took on a daunting task, but this time flipped the script on the 4-3 narrative. UF rose to the occasion by earning a 4-3 win at No. 23 LSU and a 4-2 win at No. 12 Texas A&M.
Berlin picked up a win in each match and she snapped a lengthy losing streak. After falling out of the Florida rotation earlier in the season, Berlin, one of two players to join the team at semester, really turned the corner around this time as she kicked off what would be a 7-2 close to her rookie season.
"When she arrived here in January, her head was just spinning and she was nervous. She didn't handle the match play that well early on, so we took her out of the lineup. She was really level-headed about it, she understood and agreed with the reasons why. Then we made some roster changes, now she was back in and handled it super. Her attitude towards playing and toughness really improved."
Raising its record above the ever-important .500 line with the wins, Florida returned home to begin a season-ending four-match home swing sporting a 9-8 mark.
Without the services of its No. 2 singles player and No. 1 doubles contributor, McCartney Kessler, UF dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 43 Alabama to begin the stretch. Now 9-9 and with three top 50 opponents remaining on the schedule, including two in the top 15, the Gators were in hot water and their hopes to qualify for the program's 37th NCAA Championship took a considerable hit.
Just as it had done on several occasions when facing adversity throughout the season, Florida responded.
This time, needing two wins in their final three matches, the Gators took care of No. 49 Auburn 4-2 and secured NCAA Championship eligibility with a momentous 4-3 win over No. 14 Michigan on April 11. 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 rattled off three-straight singles wins to snap the Wolverines' eight-match winning streak. Kessler, who hadn't appeared in a singles match since March 31 at Texas A&M due to injury, earned the match-clinching win when she dispatched No. 75 Pairone, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4.
"That was huge for us. I think Dave and I really enjoyed seeing that from McCartney. At that point we really needed that match. We hadn't really talked to the team about the significance of winning or losing that match, but in retrospect that really helped us and gave us some breathing room in terms of the NCAA Tournament."
UF's wins over Auburn and Michigan pushed its record to 11-9, ensuring that even with a loss to a really tough South Carolina team in its season finale and a loss in the first round of the conference tournament, that it would be eligible for to qualify for its 32nd-straight NCAA Tournament.
"Obviously we had to beat Michigan here at home, which was a formidable task, in order to feel good about our NCAA qualification. I thought that was a big step forward for this group."
With a new sense of swagger, Florida played a gritty match against No. 5 South Carolina on the following Saturday, but dropped a close 4-2 contest to the Gamecocks in final test before the postseason.
UF was assigned the No. 7 seed in the SEC Tournament and battled No. 10 Ole Miss in the first round. After a few weather delays, Florida held on for the 4-2 win as freshman Marlee Zein came through for her third match-clinching win of the season.
With the victory, Florida advanced to the event's quarterfinal round where it would square off with South Carolina for the second time in six days. The Gators gave the Gamecocks all they could handle but couldn't come through in the end, falling 4-3 as they competed in their 10th 4-3 match of the season.
When its name was called on selection Monday, Florida learned that it would be traveling away from Gainesville for the NCAA first and second rounds for the first time in 20 years. The Gators hit the road for Lawrence, Kansas.
Taking on Boston College for the first time in program history, the Gators made quick work of their ACC foe, cruising to a 4-1 win over the Eagles in the first round.
Florida looked to have a path to victory in the regional final vs. host Kansas but the ball didn't bounce its way late and the Gators fell 4-2.
"I thought we improved from the fall to the start of January and then to May. We got better. Our culture here got better, our practice habits and attitudes in practice improved. That's what you look for. It's not easy to come in with a bunch of youngsters with the high expectations this team always has and they frankly put on themselves. The outside world always expects Florida to perform at a high level and when you have some initial setbacks like we did there in January and February it can be really tough as a competitor here to keep a level head. We try to think long term but train short term. That's what we try to do with these athletes."
Despite finishing 13-12 overall, Florida completed the season with an impressive resume as it added 10 top 50 wins and maintained a top 50 ITA ranking for the duration of the campaign.
The Gators featured one of the nation's most-challenging schedules and battled 16-straight ranked opponents to finish the season.
From an individual perspective, Florida also achieved success as it had three receive SEC postseason awards and three singles players and a doubles team featured in the ITA rankings for the majority of the season.
Sophomore Ida Jarlskog, one of the team's two transfers, enjoyed an excellent first season of competition with the Gators. She competed for the majority of the season at the top spot in singles, finished a team-best 14-6, and was named All-SEC First Team.
"It was a big jump for Ida, clearly. She came from playing No. 4 at Georgia Tech, even though they made it to the semifinals last year, the quality of the players you end up playing at the top spot in the SEC each and every day is very high. She did a fabulous job. She trained to prepare for it and was clearly our hardest worker. She's a great example for our younger players of when you work hard and have the right mindset in practice then ultimately, even if it takes a little while, it pays off in this sport."
Kessler finished with the second most dual match wins with 13 and earned All-SEC Second Team status despite missing time due to injury. She rounded into form late, winning her last four matches overall.
"McCartney has always been a tremendous competitor. That was one of the things that really attracted us to her at an early stage in her junior career. She's improved a lot tennis wise, her skill level has really improved. This year playing at No. 2, she was injured a few times and that set her back, but when she's healthy she hits the ball as clean as anyone. She has the right mentality and knows the Florida way and if she's the last one standing for us in a 3-3 match, I feel really good about our chances."
Berlin was quite a story for the Gators as the Sweden native came on strong down the stretch, finishing 4-2 in SEC play and winning four of her final five bouts.
"It was just a great turnaround story as far as I'm concerned, which is very difficult to do for someone who is a young freshman coming in her first semester here at Florida. Putting on the shirt for the first time, that can really weigh on you. I thought she was magnificent at the end of the year and that was one of the biggest reasons for our improved play at the end of the year."
Zein, Berlin's partner at No. 3 doubles for the stretch run, also enjoyed a very strong debut campaign. She finished her first season in Gainesville with 11 singles wins and 10 doubles victories. The Texas native competed mostly at No. 4 singles but also played six matches at No. 3 when injuries caused the Florida rotation to shuffle. She brought home two SEC Freshman of the Week accolades and was tabbed to the SEC All-Freshman team at the end of the season.
"In the fall, I pulled Marlee aside and I told her that she probably had the greatest opportunity to be our most improved player from start to finish this year. Although she got off to a little bit a slow start in the fall in practice and competition, she really turned it on in the spring. You could see that she's the kind of player who really enjoys the team aspect of what we do. Not only did her ability to win and play well improve but her practice habits improved too."
Jarlskog, Kessler, Berlin and Zein are all slated to return to the Swamp along with rising junior Victoria Emma and soon-to-be senior Tsveta Dimitrova. Emma held a top 125 ITA singles ranking for eight weeks during the season and paired with Kessler to form UF's No. 1 doubles pairing while Dimitrova, a two-time First Team All-American Athletic Conference at Houston, showed many moments of promising play throughout the season and paired with Jarlskog to claim 10 doubles wins.
"We got better as the season went along. This year handling it the way we did, coupled with hopefully some great play this summer, I think there's no telling how we much we can improve to next year."
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
Florida Women's Tennis | Scarlett Nicholson Mic'd Up
Thursday, February 12
NCAA: Roland Thornqvist Press Conference 5-5-24
Sunday, May 05
NCAA: Coach Thornqvist & Rachel Gailis 5-4-24
Saturday, May 04
Roland Thornqvist Postmatch NCAA Second Round 5-6-23
Saturday, May 06
