Marlee Zein won in both singles and doubles on Sunday.
Gators End SEC Challenge on High Note
Sunday, October 11, 2020 | Women's Tennis
Women’s tennis goes undefeated in final day at season-opening tournament.
RESULTS (PDF)
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Florida women's tennis team posted two doubles victories and three singles wins as it wrapped up day three of competition Sunday at the SEC Challenge on the campus of the University of Alabama.
The Gators put together a perfect 2-0 mark in doubles and a 3-0 performance in singles.
Florida finished the weekend with a 5-1 record in doubles and it compiled a 5-4 record in singles.
Berlin and Dahlstrom won for the second time in three tries at the event, collecting a 6-3 victory over UK's duo of Carla Girbau and Carlota Molina. Berlin and Dahlstrom raced out to an early 4-2 lead and never looked back.
Kessler and Zein, moving to a perfect 3-0 mark on the tournament, also posted a victory but in a much different fashion. The Gators' top pairing got off to a slow start early trailing 3-2 and 4-3, but stormed all the way back to post a 7-6(4) win. Kentucky double faulted on the final point propelling Kessler and Zein to a dramatic, come-from-behind win.
For the third-straight day UF's trio of singles participants remained the same as Zein, Berlin and Dahlstrom all competed.
The Gators claimed two of three opening sets as Dahlstrom and Berlin got out to early leads but Zein, despite a gritty effort, dropped her first stanza in a tie break.
The freshman Dahlstrom capped off an excellent first weekend of college tennis with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 win over Kentucky sophomore Maialen Morante.
After Dahlstrom made quick work of her opponent, both remaining matches went to third-set tiebreaks.
Berlin after claiming the first set 6-3, saw Anastasia Tkachenko equalize the score with a 6-4 win in the second stanza. With the 10-point tiebreak in effect for the third and final set, Berlin fell behind 0-5 and 7-1 but mounted an impressive comeback and claimed the winner-take-all frame, 13-11.
Zein's court was the final match to finish as she overcame an early deficit and finished off Lesedi Jacobs in a third set. Jacobs set the tone with a narrow victory in the first set, but Zein responded with a 7-5 win and ultimately sealed the deal with a 10-5 win in the third.
The Gators return to the courts Oct. 23-25 when they compete at an event at the University of Georgia.
Results
Sunday, Oct. 11
Doubles
Sydney Berlin and Sara Dahlstrom def. Carla Girbau and Carlota Molina (Kentucky), 6-3
McCartney Kessler and Marlee Zein def. Akvile Parazinskatte and Elizabeth Stevens (Kentucky), 7-6 (7-4)
Singles
Sara Dahlstrom def. Maialen Morante (Kentucky), 6-2, 6-1
Sydney Berlin def. Anastasia Tkachenko (Kentucky), 6-3, 4-6, 13-11
Marlee Zein def. Lesedi Jacobs (Kentucky), 6-7, 7-5, 10-5
Results
Saturday, Oct. 10
Doubles
Ariana Arseneault and Katarina Jokic (Georgia) def. Sydney Berlin and Sara Dahlstrom, 6-4
McCartney Kessler and Marlee Zein def. Anna Hertel & Meg Kowalski (Georgia), 6-2
Singles
Meg Kowalski (Georgia) def. Marlee Zein, 6-3, 6-2
Morgan Coppoc (Georgia) def. Sara Dahlstrom, 6-4, 6-3
Anna Hertel (Georgia) def. Sydney Berlin, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0
Results
Friday, Oct. 9
Doubles
Sydney Berlin and Sara Dahlstrom def. Moka Ito and Sasha Gorchanyuk (Alabama) 6-1
McCartney Kessler and Marlee Zein def. Isabella Harvison and Vanesa Nikolovova (Alabama) 6-1
Singles
Isabella Harvison (Alabama) def. Marlee Zein, 7-6, 6-2
Sydney Berlin def. Sydney Riley (Alabama) – 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
Sara Dahlstrom def. Anna Parkhomenko (Alabama) – 6-2, 6-0
Quotes from the Court
Overall thoughts on the match…
"We were very honest in our assessment of our breakdown of yesterday's competitive spirit. All our great teams have been accountable and I think what you saw today is really an awesome response to what they felt and how we broke down yesterday. Today it was the opposite, we were really tough and really gritty at the end. Sydney was down 7-1 in the super tiebreaker and turned it around and won 13-11. Marlee lost the first set in a close tiebreaker but never gave up and fought until the end. To me that means more than how we are striking the ball at this point, it just shows grit and determination. That goes into character, you can't be a championship team if you don't have that. I am super pleased with our response today."
On the team's toughness and takeaways from doubles…
"Our No. 1 doubles team obviously had a fantastic weekend going 3-0, beating two of what I think are NCAA Tournament-level teams. It was high level doubles today. Sara and Sydney were really steady. They served well and played tactically really smart and won fairly easily. Doubles play overall has been really good. We are actually ahead of where I thought we would be because we haven't focused a ton at practice on doubles. So that's a real positive and then singles wise, Sara was clinical. She really was probably hard on herself from yesterday's performance and wanted to make up for that today. She was really mentally solid, she was striking the ball clean today but more importantly she competed and was really solid mentally."
On Marlee Zein's play…
"I think her approach to her role on the team is changing for the better for the Gators. No longer can she be like the young kid that goes in and out of focus, she's now an upperclassmen. It's now her responsibility to show the new kids how we do it at Florida and I think she's actually embracing that and that's really important for us. I think that's going to have a really positive effect on her game down the road, she's got all the talent in the world and clearly she's a world class athlete. If she can couple all that with more constant work and a little grittier practice attitude. That goes a long way and she becomes an instant leader for us which will pay dividends not only for her but for our team. Today was remarkable because I think that she has thought that she was not striking the ball well in both of her losses. Today he played a really good player for Kentucky, indoors, who was really fast where there was no time to fell. You just have to play and strike the ball, go for it and believe. And that's actually what she did and I'm really proud of her. It's going to be great for the Gators.
On what the team will work on over next two weeks….
"I think we are serving and returning well. We are going to do some consistency drills because we still have spells in the middle of sets where we giveaway too many points and we are going to watch a little bit of film on how they problem solve. We are going to work and concentrate on consistency."
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Florida women's tennis team posted two doubles victories and three singles wins as it wrapped up day three of competition Sunday at the SEC Challenge on the campus of the University of Alabama.
The Gators put together a perfect 2-0 mark in doubles and a 3-0 performance in singles.
Florida finished the weekend with a 5-1 record in doubles and it compiled a 5-4 record in singles.
Berlin and Dahlstrom won for the second time in three tries at the event, collecting a 6-3 victory over UK's duo of Carla Girbau and Carlota Molina. Berlin and Dahlstrom raced out to an early 4-2 lead and never looked back.
Kessler and Zein, moving to a perfect 3-0 mark on the tournament, also posted a victory but in a much different fashion. The Gators' top pairing got off to a slow start early trailing 3-2 and 4-3, but stormed all the way back to post a 7-6(4) win. Kentucky double faulted on the final point propelling Kessler and Zein to a dramatic, come-from-behind win.
For the third-straight day UF's trio of singles participants remained the same as Zein, Berlin and Dahlstrom all competed.
The Gators claimed two of three opening sets as Dahlstrom and Berlin got out to early leads but Zein, despite a gritty effort, dropped her first stanza in a tie break.
The freshman Dahlstrom capped off an excellent first weekend of college tennis with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 win over Kentucky sophomore Maialen Morante.
After Dahlstrom made quick work of her opponent, both remaining matches went to third-set tiebreaks.
Berlin after claiming the first set 6-3, saw Anastasia Tkachenko equalize the score with a 6-4 win in the second stanza. With the 10-point tiebreak in effect for the third and final set, Berlin fell behind 0-5 and 7-1 but mounted an impressive comeback and claimed the winner-take-all frame, 13-11.
Zein's court was the final match to finish as she overcame an early deficit and finished off Lesedi Jacobs in a third set. Jacobs set the tone with a narrow victory in the first set, but Zein responded with a 7-5 win and ultimately sealed the deal with a 10-5 win in the third.
The Gators return to the courts Oct. 23-25 when they compete at an event at the University of Georgia.
Results
Sunday, Oct. 11
Doubles
Sydney Berlin and Sara Dahlstrom def. Carla Girbau and Carlota Molina (Kentucky), 6-3
McCartney Kessler and Marlee Zein def. Akvile Parazinskatte and Elizabeth Stevens (Kentucky), 7-6 (7-4)
Singles
Sara Dahlstrom def. Maialen Morante (Kentucky), 6-2, 6-1
Sydney Berlin def. Anastasia Tkachenko (Kentucky), 6-3, 4-6, 13-11
Marlee Zein def. Lesedi Jacobs (Kentucky), 6-7, 7-5, 10-5
Results
Saturday, Oct. 10
Doubles
Ariana Arseneault and Katarina Jokic (Georgia) def. Sydney Berlin and Sara Dahlstrom, 6-4
McCartney Kessler and Marlee Zein def. Anna Hertel & Meg Kowalski (Georgia), 6-2
Singles
Meg Kowalski (Georgia) def. Marlee Zein, 6-3, 6-2
Morgan Coppoc (Georgia) def. Sara Dahlstrom, 6-4, 6-3
Anna Hertel (Georgia) def. Sydney Berlin, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0
Results
Friday, Oct. 9
Doubles
Sydney Berlin and Sara Dahlstrom def. Moka Ito and Sasha Gorchanyuk (Alabama) 6-1
McCartney Kessler and Marlee Zein def. Isabella Harvison and Vanesa Nikolovova (Alabama) 6-1
Singles
Isabella Harvison (Alabama) def. Marlee Zein, 7-6, 6-2
Sydney Berlin def. Sydney Riley (Alabama) – 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
Sara Dahlstrom def. Anna Parkhomenko (Alabama) – 6-2, 6-0
Quotes from the Court
Overall thoughts on the match…
"We were very honest in our assessment of our breakdown of yesterday's competitive spirit. All our great teams have been accountable and I think what you saw today is really an awesome response to what they felt and how we broke down yesterday. Today it was the opposite, we were really tough and really gritty at the end. Sydney was down 7-1 in the super tiebreaker and turned it around and won 13-11. Marlee lost the first set in a close tiebreaker but never gave up and fought until the end. To me that means more than how we are striking the ball at this point, it just shows grit and determination. That goes into character, you can't be a championship team if you don't have that. I am super pleased with our response today."
On the team's toughness and takeaways from doubles…
"Our No. 1 doubles team obviously had a fantastic weekend going 3-0, beating two of what I think are NCAA Tournament-level teams. It was high level doubles today. Sara and Sydney were really steady. They served well and played tactically really smart and won fairly easily. Doubles play overall has been really good. We are actually ahead of where I thought we would be because we haven't focused a ton at practice on doubles. So that's a real positive and then singles wise, Sara was clinical. She really was probably hard on herself from yesterday's performance and wanted to make up for that today. She was really mentally solid, she was striking the ball clean today but more importantly she competed and was really solid mentally."
On Marlee Zein's play…
"I think her approach to her role on the team is changing for the better for the Gators. No longer can she be like the young kid that goes in and out of focus, she's now an upperclassmen. It's now her responsibility to show the new kids how we do it at Florida and I think she's actually embracing that and that's really important for us. I think that's going to have a really positive effect on her game down the road, she's got all the talent in the world and clearly she's a world class athlete. If she can couple all that with more constant work and a little grittier practice attitude. That goes a long way and she becomes an instant leader for us which will pay dividends not only for her but for our team. Today was remarkable because I think that she has thought that she was not striking the ball well in both of her losses. Today he played a really good player for Kentucky, indoors, who was really fast where there was no time to fell. You just have to play and strike the ball, go for it and believe. And that's actually what she did and I'm really proud of her. It's going to be great for the Gators.
On what the team will work on over next two weeks….
"I think we are serving and returning well. We are going to do some consistency drills because we still have spells in the middle of sets where we giveaway too many points and we are going to watch a little bit of film on how they problem solve. We are going to work and concentrate on consistency."
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
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