For
the first time since February, the No. 2 UF women's tennis team
found itself stuck in a match it might not win.
After clinching the doubles point, Florida watched Clemson claim
five of the six first sets during singles play at the NCAA
Championships in Palo Alto, Calif.
But
in the Round of 16, the Gators fought back and claimed a 4-1
victory over the Tigers after forcing third sets on most of the
singles courts.
"We
lost five first sets. In 10 years at Florida, that's never happened
where we turned around to win," coach Roland Thornqvist. "They were
looser than we were, and we found ourselves having to rely on our
legs and our fitness at the end."
After falling behind early, two of Florida's leaders led the
comeback. Lauren Embree fought Keri Wong to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-4,
giving the Gators a 2-1 advantage. Joanna Mather stretched
Florida’s lead to 3-1 with her three-set victory on Court 4.
The
match ended when freshman Alex Cercone topped Clemson's Masha
Belaya on Court 5.
"Alex didn't play at the top of her game but put the ball to the
right side near the end of the match and played smart to win it,"
Thornqvist said.
To
claim the doubles point, which proved to be essential, Cercone and
sophomore Allie Will had to overcome one of the top doubles teams
in the nation in Clemson's pairing of Josipa Bek and Keri Wong.
"Sometimes you've got to get punched to get back up," Thornqivst
said. "We haven't really been challenged since the [ITA Indoor
Championships], but we got tougher when the going got tough."
Florida advances to the quarterfinals to face rival Miami in the
Round of Eight on Sunday.
"We're familiar with the team since we played them in the first
round of the Indoors,” Thornqivst said. “It's going to be a
slugfest, that's for sure."
