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Led by sophomore star Allie Will, the No. 1 UF women's tennis team
turned a potentially tight match into a 6-1 drubbing over No. 33
Alabama Friday at Linder Stadium,
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Will and doubles partner Alex Cercone won UF’s most exciting
doubles match of the spring season, a 9-8 decision against
Alabama's pairing of Alexa Guarachi and Courtney McLane on Court
1.
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Guarachi and McLane, ranked No. 7 in the ITA doubles rankings, gave
Will and Cercone all they could handle, jumping out to an early 5-3
advantage. The Gators duo fought back to take the lead, but the
match went into a tiebreaker as the Crimson Tide knotted things up
at 8-8.
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The tiebreaker was equally as competitive, but Will provided big
shots in the clutch to win it for Florida by a 9-7 score. The win
gave the Gators the crucial doubles point, as Lauren Embree and
Joanna Mather notched an 8-2 win on Court 2 earlier.
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"It's important to be able to adjust when you switch doubles
partners because everyone has a different style of play," Cercone
said. "With Allie and me, we're both very versatile. We can change
the way we play, and we have a big arsenal."
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Florida has been dominant this season in doubles play.
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After Friday's match, UF is 13-0 when winning the doubles point,
and the Gators only lost the doubles point once — in their loss to
Stanford.
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"We knew we were going to be tested in doubles for probably the
second time this season," coach Roland Thornqvist said.
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thought we played with courage in the crucial spots there at
[Court] 1. That's how you beat great teams; you can't hope that
they're going to lose it. You’ve got to go out and do things to
bother them on big points."
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Florida went on to win five of the six singles matches, including
four that were won in straight sets.
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MEN’S
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The No. 15 UF men's tennis team beat No. 35 Alabama 6-1 in
Tuscaloosa on Friday night.
Senior star Alexandre Lacroix reached two milestones on the night,
setting the record for doubles wins at UF with his 94th career win
and capturing his 100th singles victory.
