Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Lauren Embree already had a red-letter weekend on her schedule. One of the greatest women's tennis players in NCAA history, Embree was locked into coming to town as part of Florida's homecoming weekend and her induction into the Class of 2023 UF Athletic Hall of Fame. Pretty big deal, right?

Embree, who starred for the Gators from 2009-13 and helped lead the program to back-to-back national championships, was going to have a blast with family and friends. That was a given. 
 
Then came the "Two Bits" invite. 
 
"I was like, 'Me? Are you sure?' " Embree said. 
 
Yes. They were sure. 
 

So many of the "Mr. Two Bits" turns since the celebrity tradition commenced 10 years ago have gone to "Gator Greats." Embree officially will enter that club with Friday night's ceremony, but she's basically been one since the day she arrived on campus. 
 
How 'bout a 117-16 career record in singles and 236 all-time victories (counting doubles), including a perfect 38-0 mark in SEC play? Embree, as a sophomore, forever will be remembered for her stirring comeback in the 2011 NCAA final on the homecourt of reigning national champion Stanford, when she rallied from deficits of 3-0 and 4-1 to defeat Mallory Burnett in a pulsating 8-6 third-set tiebreaker victory that provided the team's championship-clinching point. 
 
As a junior, Embree captained the 2012 team that swept UCLA 4-0 in the final a year later. As a senior, the Gators fell short of a three-peat, but Embree played the entire season as the nation's No. 1-ranked singles player. 
 
She went on to play professionally for four years before returning to college as an assistant coach; first at Pepperdine for two seasons, then back at Florida for four. In 2022, she left coaching and moved to Austin, Texas, where she's now a functional medicine nutritionist for Miraval and also started her own nutritional consulting business. 
 
Her exit from tennis last year coincided with the passing of her father and beloved mentor Keith, who from her time as a youth prodigy on the court was the torch that lit her competitive fire; the one who dubbed his daughter the "Ice Princess" for the way she would stare down adversity whenever the moments got toughest. 
 
While Embree, now 32, is the one being honored this week, she will do the same for her father.
 

"Not having my dad there will be sad, but it puts a special emphasis on everything because it's something he would be so proud of," she said. "I'll remember him. He's the reason this is all happening."
 
It should be quite an emotional Friday night. 
 
But what about that little pregame thing before the Gators (3-2, 1-1) and Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-2) square off at 4 p.m. in the "Swamp?" Embree will be just the second UF tennis player (and first female) to don the khakis, yellow shirt and "Two Bits" signs. Pretty good company, too, what with pheom Ben Shelton being the other. 
 
Shelton put a little tennis spin on his routine last year. Embree plans to do the same. 
 
"Everyone has an opinion on what I should do, but I just know I'm going to make it tennis-specific and also want to make it unique," she said. "I'll spice up the uniform a little -- you have to, right? -- but I'll abide by the rules. I mean, how much can you mess it up?" 
 
When you're Lauren Embree, you can't.

Here's predicting he'll be great. "Gator Great," in fact.