Friday, March 5
Athens, GA
4 PM
Florida Gators
at
University of Georgia
Ida Jarlskog is 5-3 in singles and has won her last two matches.
Gators Continue SEC Play With a Pair of Top 25 Road Challenges This Weekend
Thursday, March 4, 2021 | Women's Tennis
Women's tennis travels to No. 3 UGA and No. 21 Tennessee.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Fresh off a perfect 2-0 SEC set at home this past weekend, the No. 27 University of Florida women's tennis team (5-4, 3-1) continues its conference season with a pair of rigorous road tests. Off the heels of consecutive top 25 wins, the Gators' road doesn't get much easier as they travel to No. 3 Georgia Friday before taking on the No. 21 Tennessee Volunteers Sunday.
First serve from Athens is set for 4 p.m. on Friday and Sunday the Gators and the Volunteers will square off at Noon.
Following a road series split at Alabama and Auburn the weekend prior, the Gators returned to the Swamp and recorded two impressive victories. They began the weekend with a 4-2 win over No. 19 LSU. Despite dropping the doubles point, Florida broke through for a hard-fought victory as Ida Jarlskog clinched it with a come-back victory in three sets. Against the Aggies, Florida collected the competitive doubles point and fended off Texas A&M's rally in singles to post another 4-2 win. After dropping the first set and trailing 4-2 in the second, UF's top-ranked singles player, No. 32 McCartney Kessler, clinched the Gators' win on court one.
The Calhoun, Ga. native, Kessler, continues to build on what has been a smashing start to her senior campaign. At 6-1 in dual match play, Kessler leads the Gators in victories and has won four-straight. The two-time All-SEC performer has brought her "A game" against the nation's best competition, posting victories in three of her four matches against ranked foes.
At 10-3 overall and 5-2 in dual match, junior Sydney Berlin has provided great stability and anchored Florida's singles lineup, winning four-straight contests.
Kessler's play has been just a strong and just as pivotal in doubles as she and Marlee Zein have rattled off five-straight victories playing from the Gators' top spot. The Gators have won three of the last four doubles points after registering only two through their first five bouts.
Tuesday, Kessler was tabbed the SEC's Athlete of the Week after her impressive performance.
The No. 3 Bulldogs enter the weekend sporting a 7-1 record which includes a 3-0 mark in conference play. In singles, UGA features two undefeated athletes with No. 16 Katarina Jokic and No. 60 Meg Kowalski. No. 16 Jokic is a veteran who earned three-consecutive SEC Athlete of the Week honors last season. UGA has been really strong in doubles so far in dual match play, registering a 17-3 overall mark. The Bulldogs posted a pair of 4-0 wins last weekend, defeating Ole Miss and Mississippi State on the road. Jeff Wallace, the nation's winningest active women's tennis coach, has over 750 career victories. UGA has five ranked singles players and two ranked doubles tandems.
No. 21 Tennessee is off to a 7-4 start but is just 1-2 in league play. After falling to Georgia and Mississippi State to open the SEC slate, Tennessee rebounded with a win over Ole Miss. The Volunteers have shuffled the lineup quite a bit with three different players seeing action at the No. 1 slot. No. 52 Rebeka Mertena leads the with way with a 4-0 record. UT is 21-9 overall in dual match doubles play; Carly Briggs and Tenika McGiffin are 4-1 competing at No. 1 doubles. The Volunteers feature three ranked singles athletes. Former Tennessee All-American Alison Ojeda is in her fifth year as the head coach at her alma mater.
The Gators hold a 49-17 advantage over Georgia in the all-time series and are 14-5 playing on the road. Against Tennessee, UF is 45-0 and has won 19 times in Knoxville.
Following their weekend on the road, the Gators return home to host Missouri and Arkansas on March 12 and March 14, respectively.
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First serve from Athens is set for 4 p.m. on Friday and Sunday the Gators and the Volunteers will square off at Noon.
| No. 3 GEORGIA MATCH INFO |
|---|
| Date | Friday, March 5 |
| Time | 4 p.m. ET |
| Matchup | No. 27 Florida (5-4, 3-1) at No. 3 Georgia (7-1, 3-0) |
| Location | Magill Tennis Complex |
| Live Stats | Here |
| Live Video | Here |
| Match Notes | Florida |
| No. 21 TENNESSEE MATCH INFO |
|---|
| Date | Sunday, March 7 |
| Time | Noon ET |
| Matchup | No. 27 Florida (5-4, 3-1) at No. 21 Tennessee (7-4, 1-2) |
| Location | Goodfriend Tennis Center |
| Live Stats | Here |
| Live Video | Here |
| Match Notes | Florida |
Following a road series split at Alabama and Auburn the weekend prior, the Gators returned to the Swamp and recorded two impressive victories. They began the weekend with a 4-2 win over No. 19 LSU. Despite dropping the doubles point, Florida broke through for a hard-fought victory as Ida Jarlskog clinched it with a come-back victory in three sets. Against the Aggies, Florida collected the competitive doubles point and fended off Texas A&M's rally in singles to post another 4-2 win. After dropping the first set and trailing 4-2 in the second, UF's top-ranked singles player, No. 32 McCartney Kessler, clinched the Gators' win on court one.
The Calhoun, Ga. native, Kessler, continues to build on what has been a smashing start to her senior campaign. At 6-1 in dual match play, Kessler leads the Gators in victories and has won four-straight. The two-time All-SEC performer has brought her "A game" against the nation's best competition, posting victories in three of her four matches against ranked foes.
At 10-3 overall and 5-2 in dual match, junior Sydney Berlin has provided great stability and anchored Florida's singles lineup, winning four-straight contests.
Kessler's play has been just a strong and just as pivotal in doubles as she and Marlee Zein have rattled off five-straight victories playing from the Gators' top spot. The Gators have won three of the last four doubles points after registering only two through their first five bouts.
Tuesday, Kessler was tabbed the SEC's Athlete of the Week after her impressive performance.
The No. 3 Bulldogs enter the weekend sporting a 7-1 record which includes a 3-0 mark in conference play. In singles, UGA features two undefeated athletes with No. 16 Katarina Jokic and No. 60 Meg Kowalski. No. 16 Jokic is a veteran who earned three-consecutive SEC Athlete of the Week honors last season. UGA has been really strong in doubles so far in dual match play, registering a 17-3 overall mark. The Bulldogs posted a pair of 4-0 wins last weekend, defeating Ole Miss and Mississippi State on the road. Jeff Wallace, the nation's winningest active women's tennis coach, has over 750 career victories. UGA has five ranked singles players and two ranked doubles tandems.
No. 21 Tennessee is off to a 7-4 start but is just 1-2 in league play. After falling to Georgia and Mississippi State to open the SEC slate, Tennessee rebounded with a win over Ole Miss. The Volunteers have shuffled the lineup quite a bit with three different players seeing action at the No. 1 slot. No. 52 Rebeka Mertena leads the with way with a 4-0 record. UT is 21-9 overall in dual match doubles play; Carly Briggs and Tenika McGiffin are 4-1 competing at No. 1 doubles. The Volunteers feature three ranked singles athletes. Former Tennessee All-American Alison Ojeda is in her fifth year as the head coach at her alma mater.
The Gators hold a 49-17 advantage over Georgia in the all-time series and are 14-5 playing on the road. Against Tennessee, UF is 45-0 and has won 19 times in Knoxville.
Following their weekend on the road, the Gators return home to host Missouri and Arkansas on March 12 and March 14, respectively.
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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