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Florida and Stanford have been
the two best women's tennis programs in America over the past
calendar year.
It
was only fitting they met in the NCAA Tournament final Tuesday. And
wouldn’t you know it, the match went on to be one of the most epic
matches in the history of Florida’s tennis program.
The
Gators capped a marvelous comeback at Taube Tennis Stadium in Palo
Alto, Calif., beating the Cardinal 4-3 to avenge a loss to Stanford
in last year's championship match and capturing the 2011 NCAA
National Championship.
Sophomore star Lauren Embree made a dramatic comeback on Court 2, a
spirited performance that was a microcosm of the entire match.
"That was the gutsiest performance I think I've ever seen," coach
Roland Thornqvist said. "She was down 4-0 in the final set with
2,000 people in the stands, and obviously it was a very partisan
crowd."
In
her third set against Stanford's Mallory Burdette, Embree found
herself in a 4-0 deficit quickly. But she fought back, taking a 5-4
lead before Burdette forced a tiebreaker by tying the set at
6-6.
With the national championship on the line, Embree claimed the
tiebreaker 8-6, throwing her racket in the air while her teammates
swarmed her to celebrate.
Florida's win handed Stanford its first loss of the year and its
first loss at home in 184 matches —a streak that dated back to
February of 1999.
"We
had the player we wanted in the end," Thornqvist said.
Embree has paced Florida all season, finishing the 2011 dual match
campaign with a 24-0 singles record.
The
Gators started their upset bid by taking a convincing doubles
point.
"Frankly we all thought we had the better team when we lost to them
in February [in the ITA Indoor Championship final]," Thornqvist
said. "Losing the doubles point was part of that but today we
played great in doubles and we really kicked their butts."
But
Stanford roared back in singles to take a 3-1 lead. UF’s Allie
Will, Sofie Oyen and Joanna Mather all lost their singles
matches.
But
freshman Alex Cercone won her match on Court 5 and freshman Olivia
Janowicz mounted a dominating third set on Court 6 to take her
match during Embree's comeback.
"I
was happy she ran away with third set because I don't know if I
could have taken another close match," Thornqvist said.
When Embree finally won her match after the third championship
point, the Stanford home crowd was left silently stunned while
Thornqvist and his players celebrated their fifth championship in
school history — more than any other program at UF.
"Today we found out why they had a 12-year winning streak here,
their crowd was fantastic," Thornqvist said.
"We
didn't need to talk about last year. It was fresh in the minds of
the three players who lived it. But I am proud Lauren got to be a
big part about winning our championship. She was disappointed after
last year, so maybe this ring will help ease it a little."
