Returning six core players and adding a talented freshman, the Gators will look to build on the positive momentum built at the end of last season.
Gators Primed for Challenging 2019-20 Slate
Tuesday, September 10, 2019 | Women's Tennis
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Women’s tennis unveils schedule
By: Sam Stolte
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – University of Florida women's tennis head coach Roland Thornqvist unveiled the Gators' 2019-20 schedule Tuesday morning, a docket that includes 11 dual matches against teams that qualified for the 2019 NCAA Tournament as well as a challenging slate of preparation during the fall months.
"Along with an SEC slate that's a who's who of the elite in the nation, we are playing an outstanding schedule in January and February. Overall, we hope this schedule will allow us to be as prepared for the post season as we can possibly be," head coach Roland Thornqvist said.
Of the 13 SEC opponents Florida will take the court against this season, 11 finished in the top 50 of the final ITA rankings in 2019.
The Gators are set to open their fall season at the 25K Lubbock on the campus of Texas Tech on Sept. 17.
During the individual tournament portion of the season, Florida will compete four times in the Sunshine State despite not hosting a match at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
At the site of last season's NCAA Championships, the USTA National Campus in Orlando, UF will compete against student-athletes from Oklahoma State, UCF, N.C. State, Miami, Tennessee, Virginia and Ohio State at the USTA Fall Ranked Spotlight on Sept 27-29. Other stops in the state of Florida include the Bedford Cup in Fort Myers, the ITA Regional Championships in Tallahassee and the Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic in Lakewood Ranch.
In addition to the ITA Regional Championships, other major ITA events on the horizon for the Gators in the fall are the ITA Women's All-American Championships in Tulsa, Oct. 5-13 and the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, Nov. 6-10.
Following the conclusion of the fall's competition, Florida will wrap up its individual season in style when it travels to the Bahamas for the Pink Flamingo Cup at the Baha Mar Resort, Jan. 10-12. A collection of the nation's top women's tennis programs will meet on the island as Texas, UCLA and Miami will join the Gators in the hidden dual match tournament.
McCartney Kessler (left) and Victoria Emma (right) finished No. 18 in the final ITA doubles rankings a season ago
After its excursion to the Bahamas, UF begins its dual match season in Raleigh, N.C. at the ITA Kickoff regional hosted by N.C. State on Jan. 25 and 26. The Gators battle Oklahoma in their opening round matchup before taking on the winner/loser of N.C. State and Rice.
UF continues its season-opening road swing with a contest at Big Ten foe Michigan on Feb. 4. After its time in Ann Arbor, Florida sets its sites on the National Team Indoors in Chicago, which it will hope to earn entry to via the ITA Kickoff.
Florida hosts its home opener on Friday, Feb. 14 when it welcomes UNF to town. After a two-week break in the action, the Gators then travel to Tuscaloosa for their SEC lidlifter vs. Alabama on Feb. 28.
After beginning the dual match slate with three of its first four contests on the road, Florida welcomes LSU on Friday, March 6 and Texas A&M on Sunday, March 8 for its first SEC weekend at home.
Continuing its rugged stretch, UF then hits the road for a weekend of competition at Georgia and Tennessee before returning to the Ring for matches against Missouri and Arkansas on March 20 and 22, respectively.
Florida concludes the month of March with a trip to the Magnolia State as it takes on Ole Miss on Thursday, March 26 and Mississippi State on Saturday, March 28.
Playing two of their final three matches occurring at home, the Gators host Kentucky on April 2 and Vanderbilt on April 4. After an eight-day break, the Gators wrap up their regular season at defending champion South Carolina on April 12.
Alabama is the host of this season's SEC Tournament which will take place April 15-19.
The Gators welcome back six returners from last season's squad which secured the program's 32nd-straight NCAA Championship appearance and finished No. 24 in the final ITA rankings. 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.
Key Returners
Ida Jarlskog: The 2019 ITA All-American competed primarily at No. 1 singles and finished with a 28-11 overall record. She was tabbed to All-SEC First Team and finished No. 17 in the final ITA singles rankings.
McCartney Kessler: The Georgia native collected All-SEC honors for the second straight season, finishing with a 26-13 overall record. Posting nine wins over ranked foes, Kessler appeared in the final ITA rankings for both singles (No. 39) and doubles (No. 18, with Victoria Emma).
Victoria Emma: Finishing with a spot in the final ITA doubles ranking for her second time in as many seasons, Emma paired up with McCartney Kessler for eight dual match wins. Emma added six dual match singles wins and held an ITA rank for six-straight weeks during the campaign.
Marlee Zein: The five-foot-nine right hander enjoyed a strong first season with Florida, garnering SEC All-Freshman Team honors. She accounted for 11 singles wins and 10 doubles victories during the dual match docket.
Tsveta Dimitrova: Florida's lone senior this upcoming season, Dimitrova paired with Jarlskog to produce a team-best 10 dual match doubles wins. The Sofia, Bulgaria native has 60 career singles wins to her name, tops on the squad.
Sydney Berlin: After joining the team at semester, Berlin saw time in 18 dual matches and recorded a 4-2 mark in league tilts. She closed the season very strong, recording four wins in her final five matches.
Key Additions
Layne Sleeth: The Gators' lone freshman, Sleeth, was a standout player in Canada. The Markham, Ontario native enters the college ranks after putting together a successful summer on the professional circuit; she broke through for her first professional tournament win and added nine WTA victories.
Our 2019-20 schedule is here 😤⤵️
🐊 3 @ITA_Tennis tournaments in the fall 🐊 Pink Flamingo Cup in the Bahamas in January 🐊 7 home dual matches 🐊 11 dual matches vs. teams that qualified for the #NCAATennis Championship last season
