Results (PDF)
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The No. 24 University of Florida women's tennis team (13-11, 7-6) earned a 4-1 win over No. 42 Boston College (16-11, 5-9 ACC) in NCAA Championship first round action Friday afternoon at the Jayhawk Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Kansas. Freshman
Sydney Berlin clinched the victory from court six as the Gators improved to 21-0 all time in the round of 64 and advanced to the postseason event's second round.
Taking on a ranked opponent for the 15
th-straight match, Florida won the doubles point and kept things rolling in singles by winning three of the first four singles contests.
Berlin, picking up her first career match-clinching win, sealed it for Florida with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Laura Lopez. It was the first-year Gator's fourth-straight victory.
No. 15
Ida Jarlskog and No. 30 McCartney also added singles wins as the Gators put together one of their best all-around efforts of the campaign.
UF got off to a strong start as it secured the doubles point with a pair of dominant 6-1 wins on courts two and three. Snapping a four-match slide,
Tsveta Dimitrova and Jarlskog came through for the deciding victory on two while the freshmen pairing of Berlin and
Marlee Zein continued its recent stretch of strong play with a win on three. No. 25
Victoria Emma and Kessler saw their match go unfinished at 3-5. The Gators captured the opening point for their fourth time in their last six contests.
Florida's momentum carried over into singles play as the Gators claimed five of the opening six sets.
Jarlskog helped the Gators garner the day's first singles tally as the sophomore posted a 6-0, 6-0 win over No. 70 Yufei Long to give the Gators a 2-0 edge. Jarlskog improved to 6-0 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and the sophomore recorded her 11
th win over a ranked foe this season.
Kessler kept things rolling for Florida when she registered a 6-3, 6-3 victory over No. 118 Kylie Wilcox. Picking up her third-straight win and eighth win over a ranked opponent this season the sophomore made it 3-0 in favor of Florida.
BC struck back with a win on court three to cut the deficit to 3-1, but soon after Berlin ended the match with her breakthrough on court six.
Dimitrova and Zein, who both claimed their respective openings sets, saw their matches go unfinished.
With the win, Florida improved to 115-29 all-time in the NCAA Championship.
Florida will await the winner of this afternoon's contest between host No. 14 Kansas and No. 44 Denver.
Up Next
Saturday, May 4
No. 24 Florida (13-11, 7-6) vs. No. 14 Kansas/No. 44 Denver
2 p.m. ET
Jayhawk Tennis Center | Lawrence, Kansas
NCAA Championship Second Round
No. 24 Florida vs. No. 42 Boston College
Doubles Results
No. 25
McCartney Kessler/
Victoria Emma vs. No. 51 Kylie Wilcox and Jackie Urbinati, 3-5, unfinished
Ida Jarlskog/
Tsveta Dimitrova (Florida) def. Yufei Long and Loren Haukova, 6-1
Marlee Zein/
Sydney Berlin (Florida) def. Elene Tsokilauri and Natasha Irani, 6-1
Doubles order of finish: 3,2
Singles Results
No. 15
Ida Jarlskog (Florida) def. No. 70 Yufei Long, 6-0, 6-0
No. 30
McCartney Kessler (Florida) def. No. 118 Kylie Wilcox, 6-3, 6-3
Jackie Urbinati def.
Victoria Emma (Florida), 6-2, 6-2
Marlee Zein (Florida) vs. Natasha Irani, 7-5, 2-4, unfinished
Tsveta Dimitrova (Florida) vs. Elene Tsokilauri, 6-4, 2-4, unfinished
Sydney Berlin (Florida) def. Laura Lopez, 6-3, 6-2
Singles order of finish: 1,2,3,6
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
Overall thoughts on the match…
"We had good body language throughout the match. I thought we were good in doubles. We played with a lot of confidence in doubles today and I really liked that. Then in singles, we got off to great starts on many of the courts, and we never looked back. I really feel like we have a had a good period of training and like we talked about at the conclusion of the regular season heading into the SEC Tournament, we really have been playing better and better. I feel like we have that momentum still. Today we had to go indoors and the speed difference can cause problems if you let it, but I thought we were clinical. We dropped back when we had to, moved forward when we should and overall I'm really pleased with our play."
On the young team's performance in their first NCAA Tournament match as a group…
"We had to play our first NCAA match on the road. For this young team to have this professional attitude is really good. The future is bright for this group, there's no question about that. We have the right attitude to move forward. Obviously tomorrow is going to be a formidable challenge whether we play Denver or the host team in Kansas, which had a record year. We are going to cherish the challenge. We are going to keep on keeping on with our worker bee mentality and see what happens."
On Sydney Berlin's performance and team's growth…
"I'm really proud of the way Sydney (Berlin played). She had a tough start in January; she was unsure, she played a couple of good games but then would have a setback. As her performance has progressed, so has our team's. She led us again down there at six and it's fun to see. It's fun to see all these young players continue to improve. That's why we do what we do. I don't think we are anywhere near as good as we can be in the future but it's sure fun to watch us play with this energy and play at this level."
On the performance of Ida Jarlskog…
"Now that school is over, it's all tennis for her. She spent some time in the gym yesterday and the day before since we got here. She has the pro mentality. She's looking for things to do to improve her game. We are trying to get everyone on the team to have the same mentality. Today was really really good. She didn't miss a shot. It was a tough to play her today."
Florida's Record at NCAA Championships
- Round of 64: 21-0
- Round of 32: 18-2
- Round of 16: 30-4
- Quarterfinals: 25-5
- Semifinals: 14-11
- Final: 7-7
- Home: 52-6
- Away: 3-3
- Neutral: 60-20
- As No. 1: 46-11 (3 titles, 5 runner-ups)
- As No. 2: 31-3 (4 titles, 1 runner-up)
- As No. 3: 5-1 (1 runner-up)
- As No. 4: 15-4 (3 semifinal appearances)
- As No. 5: 5-3 (3 quarterfinal appearances)
- As No. 6: 4-1 (1 semifinal appearance)
- As No. 8: 4-1 (1 semifinal appearance)
- As No. 9: 1-1 (round of 32)
- As No. 15: 2-1 (round of 16)
Individual NCAA Records (Current Players)
- Kessler - Singles: 2-1 | Doubles: 2-1
- Emma - Singles: 0-2 | Doubles: 2-1
- Kubicz - Singles: 0-1 | Doubles: 1-0
- Jarlskog - Singles: 6-0 | Doubles: 2-3
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
