LAKE NONA, Fla. – The University of Florida women's tennis team posted four singles wins as it wrapped up its second day of competition at the USTA Fall Ranked Spotlight Saturday afternoon at the USTA National Campus.
Florida recorded four victories in the day's opening round of play including freshman
Layne Sleeth's third-straight win over a ranked opponent to open her collegiate career. No. 23
McCartney Kessler, No. 85
Marlee Zein and No. 91 Victoria all broke through in the event's backdraw as well.
After advancing to the main draw round of four with a win in the morning, Sleeth ran into some injury issues in the afternoon round and was forced to withdraw from her match against No. 79 Shiori Fukuda of Ohio State, trailing 3-2 in the opening set.
After knocking off the nation's 77
th and 61
st ranked players on Friday, Sleeth defeated No. 8 Anna Rogers in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2 to begin the day. The Canadian standout rose to the occasion against the 2019 All-American and three-time All-ACC honoree, Rogers.
In the backdraw, Zein added her first singles win of the fall campaign when she battled to a 7-6 (0), 6-2 victory over Oklahoma State's Alana Wolfberg, an Orlando native. No. 91 Emma also picked up a victory as she won the first set 6-4 before opponent Johanna Silva of Tennessee retired in the second. No. 23 Kessler registered a 6-0, 6-2 win over Oklahoma State's Catherine Gulihur.
Following their first matches of the day, Zein and Kessler both withdrew from competition ahead of the second round.
Emma remained active in the afternoon slate, taking on top 50 player Alana Smith of NC State. Emma battled but fell 7-5, 6-1 to the Second Team All-ACC selection.
The Gators close out competition in Lake Nona Sunday.
Quotes from the Court – Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
Overall thoughts on the day…
"We had a really good morning, everybody played well. I was pleased with the way all four players came out and competed. The key is going to be tomorrow and how everyone responds. Everyone is going to be dragging a little bit because its the third day of what has been a really challenging tournament. I'm looking forward to seeing if we have the appetite to compete and respond to the adversity. These players have played a lot of matches in some real heat. We will need to be the stronger team both physically and mentally. It's easy to come up with excuses when it's the third day of a tough tournament and you're not at your best physically, and I'm eager to see how the team handles the challenge."
USTA Fall Ranked Spotlight
Friday, Sept. 27 - Sunday Sept. 29
USTA National Campus
Lake Nona, Fla.
Live stats will not be available but make sure to follow @GatorsWTN on Twitter for score updates
Singles Scoring - Standard Best-of-3 Sets, No-AD
Doubles Scoring - One Standard Set, No-AD
Results
Saturday, Sept. 28
Singles Main Draw Round 3 (East-West)
Layne Sleeth def. No. 8 Anna Rogers (NC State), 6-2, 6-2
Singles Back Draw Round 3 (East-West)
No. 91
Victoria Emma def. Johanna Silva (UT), 6-4, ret.
Singles Back Draw Round 3 (South)
No. 23
McCartney Kessler vs. Catherine Gulihur (Oklahoma St.), 6-0, 6-2
No. 85 Marlee Zein def. Alana Wolfberg (Oklahoma St.), 7-6(0), 6-2
Singles Main Draw Round 4 (East-West)
No. 79 Shiori Fukuda def.
Layne Sleeth, 3-2, ret.
Singles Back Draw Round 4 (East-West)
No. 40 Alana Smith (NC State) def. No. 91
Victoria Emma, 7-5, 6-1
Sunday, Sept. 29
(all times listed in ET)
9 a.m. – Doubles – Second Match
Not Before 10 a.m. – Singles – Round 5
Not Before 11 a.m. – Singles – Round 5 (Additional Backdraw Matches if Necessary)
Gators Competing
Junior
Victoria Emma
Junior
McCartney Kessler
Freshman
Layne Sleeth
Sophomore
Marlee Zein
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