FINAL RESULTS (PDF)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Powered by an impressive performance in singles play, the University of Florida women's tennis team collected an impressive 4-2 win over No. 19 LSU Friday night at Linder Stadium at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex, handing the Tigers their first loss of the season.
After dropping the doubles point and falling behind 2-1 overall, the Gators rattled off three-consecutive singles wins to take out the Tigers, who entered the matchup unblemished at 7-0 and 2-0 in SEC action.
The battled-tested Gators (4-4, 2-1), who Friday took on their fourth ranked opponent through eight matches, showed great resiliency and resolve to erase an early deficit and turn in a strong effort in singles. Senior
Ida Jarlskog provided the match-clinching heroics from court three as she shook off a slow first set and settled in with a 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory. The 2019 All-American Jarlskog stormed back and came through with her fourth victory of the season, igniting the crowd in attendance at the Ring.
No. 32
McCartney Kessler, No. 65
Layne Sleeth and junior
Marlee Zein finished the match with singles victories as well as the Gators bounced back and posted a win in their first SEC match at home.
Winning their fourth-straight match, Florida's No. 1 doubles team, Kessler and Zein posted a hard-fought 6-2 win over No. 14 Eden Richardson and Nina Geissler. Knocking off a top 15 tandem for the second contest in a row, No. 26 Kessler and Zein improved to 4-2 in dual match play.
Despite some promising play, the Gators dropped the doubles point for the fifth time this season. Early on the Gators faced 2-1 deficits on all three courts, but fought and equalized at 3-3 on all three. The Gators struck first in doubles when its top team of Kessler and Zein posted its fourth-consecutive victory with a 6-2 win over No. 14 Richardson and Geissler. The Gators were very much in the mix on the remaining courts but both LSU tandems closed their matches effectively.
The second matchup to go was court three where Sleeth and
Sydney Berlin, playing together for the first time, dropped a 6-3 decision. Sleeth and Berlin battled back and forth with Safiya Carrington and Maggie Cubitt and nearly possessed a 4-3 lead but couldn't quite get there as the Tigers won three-straight games to finish out the set. A similar story occurred on court two where Jarlskog and
Sara Dahlstrom, despite their rally attempt, dropped a 6-3 final, leaving the Tigers with the doubles point.
Zein helped Florida turn the page with a convincing 6-4, 6-2 win to open the singles scoring on court two. After falling behind early 2-1 in the first set, Zein found her groove and dispatched No. 83 Carrington, 6-4, 6-2. It was Zein's second win over a ranked opponent this season.
LSU quickly jumped back ahead though as court four went in favor of the visitors. Veteran Paris Corley knocked off the Florida freshman, Dahlstrom, 6-1, 6-3.
With four courts still in play, Florida had a path but would need wins on 75 percent of the available matchups.
In a matter of moments, the Gators would tally two points as No. 32 Kessler and No. 65 Sleeth registered back-to-back wins. Winning for the third-straight time, No. 32 Kessler collected a 6-3, 6-2 triumph on court one over No. 41 Taylor Bridges. Registering her third victory over a ranked opponent this season, Kessler tied the overall score at 2-2. Soon after, from court six Sleeth struck with a 6-2, 6-1 win over LSU's Geissler to vault the Gators ahead.
With two courts still active, Jarlskog and Berlin were the last two Gators standing. With most of the attention shifting to court three, Jarlskog rose to the occasion and finished off Richardson with a great 6-2 win in the deciding set. The senior from Sweden dropped the opening set 6-2, but never stopped fighting as she claimed the final two sets by a combined tally of 12-2.
Berlin, who had clinched all three of Florida's wins entering the matchup, would have to wait another day as her contest went unfinished at 7-5, 3-6 on court five.
In the 50 meetings between the Gators and Tigers, Florida holds a 48-2 edge.
UP NEXT: The Gators return to action Sunday, when they host No. 22 Texas A&M for a noon ET match at the Ring Tennis Complex.
Florida 4, No. 19 LSU 2
Doubles Results
No. 26
McCartney Kessler and
Marlee Zein (UF) def. No. 14 Eden Richardson and Nina Geissler, 6-2
Safiya Carrington and Maggie Cubitt def.
Sara Dahlstrom and
Ida Jarlskog (UF), 6-3
Paris Corley and Taylor Bridges def.
Sydney Berlin and
Layne Sleeth (UF), 6-3
Doubles order of finish: 1,3,2
Singles Results
No. 32
McCartney Kessler (UF) def. No. 41 Taylor Bridges, 6-3, 6-2
Marlee Zein (UF) def. No. 83 Safiya Carrington, 6-4, 6-2
Ida Jarlskog (UF) def. Eden Richardson, 2-6, 6-0, 6-2
Paris Corley def.
Sara Dahlstrom (UF), 6-1, 6-3
Sydney Berlin (UF) vs.
Maggie Cubitt. 7-5, 3-6 (unfinished)
Layne Sleeth (UF) def. Nina Geissler, 6-2, 6-1
Singles order of finish: 2,4,1,6,3
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
Overall thoughts on the match…
"We've said this a lot, but championships are not won in January, but you can lose them. I just felt like it was really important for us to have the right positive mindset in what we are doing during the week. We have been taking these losses that were hard for us because we were so injured. You have to give our players a lot of credit, they kept their eye on the ball, kept working and kept their heads up despite losing to some of these teams we feel like we are at least as good as. Today I feel like we really got paid for all the work and the attitude we have had. I'm really pleased because this is a really good LSU team that we played today."
On the momentum shift in singles…
"I thought we obviously have had our ups and downs in terms of our success in doubles and you know perhaps that's actually good now. Doubles are such a crap shoot and I think our players have learned that they can move on from of it. You can't count on it, no matter how good you are during the week. We looked really determined early in singles. If you really looked at the first 30 minutes, I wasn't sure, it looked like it was going to be 50-50 on just about every court. We did a really good job and there were some key first sets just to get our nose in front. Then we held on. Like Sydney (Berlin) getting the first set really helped everybody else. Obviously Marlee (Zein) was super strong. She was a different player in practice this week. After last weekend, I know she was not terribly happy with that and she was a different player in practice this week. That's why she played the way she did today. It was magnificent."
On Ida Jarlskog clinching the match…
"It was funny because I talked to her about her depth in the first set and I wasn't really sure that I wanted her to think that she needed to hit the ball harder to get it. But the first few games of the second set, she really found a nice rhythm driving the ball, so I just stayed out of it. I literally didn't say much to her at all from second set on because she had really found a groove. She started really moving forward and taking balls out of the air. That made her more creative, so as long as she kept doing that I just kind of gave her water and told her good job. She's played enough tennis where she doesn't need any hand holding, she's very mentally tough. To have her at the end there and then Sydney (Berlin) battling like that, was really good for Ida. Knowing that Sydney is an option and that it's all just not hanging on her. If you really want someone at the end, Ida is one of those players."
Senior Ida Jarlskog
On her come-from-behind win…
"I thought I had a good shot and a good game going on in the first but I really didn't get the ball in and the depth I wanted to. But I felt like I still always was there and then in the second set, I got off to a good start and that gave me confidence. From 2-0 in the second set, I felt myself getting more relaxed and that I could play out. I found a really good game coming forward which helped me from the back as well. I'm just very happy, not only for myself but for winning for the team. Also just to do it in such a good way and to play so hard was a good feeling."
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
