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With the No. 2 Florida women's tennis team on the road and in a
challenging match against the No. 4 North Carolina Tar Heels, the
Gators needed a lift from two of their leaders.
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Joanna Mather, one of the two juniors on a team that features no
seniors, responded by rallying to a three-set win, setting up Allie
Will's match-clinching victory on Court 1.
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Florida’s two emotional leaders helped ensure a 5-2 victory for
Florida (6-0) at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, marking the
team's biggest win of the season so far.
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"I'm actually extremely excited about the win today," coach Roland
Thornqvist said. "We got a big lift today from our top players and
found a way to compete in our first road match when we didn't play
our best."
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Things didn't get off to a great start for the Gators, as Will and
Sofie Oyen, ranked No. 1 in the nation in doubles, lost their first
match of the season to No. 8 Shinann Featherston and Lauren
McHale.
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After Mather and Lauren Embree picked up the team's first doubles
win, Alex Cercone and Caroline Hitimana clinched the doubles point
in a marathon match against Zoe De Bruycker and Gina
Suarez-Malaguti.
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Cercone and Hitimana had six match points before finally winning
the match on the seventh.
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Thornqvist said he was proud that even though the team's No. 1
doubles pair lost, they found a way as a whole to clinch the
point.
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think we can win on all three doubles courts and all six singles
courts," he said. "It makes a big difference in the long run
because if one of our top players has an off day, we can count on
others to step it up."
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Singles play started off competitively as well, and Cercone gave UF
a 2-0 overall lead with a straight-sets win on Court 6.
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Mather's come-from-behind win set up the Gators for the win, but
Olivia Janowicz failed to clinch it on Court 4 in a three-set
loss.
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Will's straight-sets win clinched the team victory, and Embree
followed with a win on Court 2 to give the Gators their total of 5
points.
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Will and Embree are both undefeated on Courts 1 and 2 this year,
and Thornqvist said that having those two playing at the top of the
lineup is always a big lift for the team.
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would take my one-two punch over any other one-two punch in the
country," he said.
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The Gators won't have much time to enjoy their win, as the team
plays at No. 6 Duke Sunday. Thornqvist said the team is viewing the
road trip in a tournament style in order to prepare for the ITA
Indoor Championships next week.
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"We have to make sure we eat right tonight, stretch a lot, do all
the little things to get ready for a quick turnaround for the next
match," he said.
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"We learned a lot about our team today and we should learn even
more tomorrow."
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Florida men's team
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The No. 7 men's tennis team suffered its first loss of the season
Saturday at No. 16 Illinois in a tightly contested 4-3 match at the
Atkins Tennis Center.
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The match came down to the final point, with the overall team score
tied at 3-3 as Gators leader Alexandre Lacroix battled Illinois'
Dennis Nevolo.
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Lacroix, ranked No. 4 in the ITA singles rankings, overcame a
first-set loss to win the second set 7-6 against No. 11 Nevolo.
However, Lacroix fell short in the third set, losing the match 6-4,
6-7 (5), 6-0.
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"Alex's opponent was one of the top guys in the country and he had
a real good crowd on his side," coach Andy Jackson said.
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"Alex was very disappointed to lose, but I didn't feel like we
played as well as we could on the other three singles courts where
we lost," Jackson said.
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the Gators' top three singles players, only Sekou Bangoura, Jr. was
able to pull out a win, topping Ku Singh in straight sets.
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Sophomore Bob van Overbeek dropped a straight-sets decision to No.
111 Johnny Hamui. He has now lost two straight matches following an
11-game win streak.
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The Gators (6-1) will attempt to regroup in the week leading up to
the ITA Indoor Championships in Seattle, Wash.
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"This road trip, against a team who plays indoors all the time, was
designed to be our preparation for the Indoor Championships,"
Jackson said.
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"We lost to one of the top teams in the nation, and I think we're
still a top-10 or -15 team, so we'll be looking to rebound strong
and play tough next weekend."
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