Junior Lauren Embree may have squared off against a familiar face Monday at the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Championships, but her finish in the tournament’s singles finals wasn’t quite as typical.
Top-seeded Embree was crowned runner-up at the Ring Tennis Complex after dropping a straight-set match 2-6, 5-7 to Georgia’s Chelsey Gullickson.
In the past, the Gators have targeted Gullickson, the 2010 NCAA singles champion, by forcing her out of her comfort zone, especially with over-the-shoulder balls. But her composed play against Embree showed that Gullickson is now aware of Florida’s strategy.
“We’ve played (Gullickson) before many times and we’ve always been able to get her out of her ball tolerance by making her hit enough balls to where she wears down, but I thought she was very sharp,” UF coach Roland Thornqvist said. “She handled balls over her shoulder better over the long haul this weekend than I think I’ve seen from her ever.”
The Georgia senior and tournament’s No. 4 seed also used both corners of the court to her advantage, knocking Embree out of contention by immediately putting her on defense.
Although Embree came close to forcing Gullickson to three sets multiple times, Thornqvist said Florida’s limited match experience so far this season eventually led to Embree’s downfall.
“I don’t think she was confident like she has been in the past, but she did play a lot of matches and that really will help her,” Thornqvist said. “Going into today I don’t know if I saw that mental strength really from the beginning that we’re used to from her. I think perhaps she was anticipating a tough match before she even stepped out there.”
While Embree didn’t qualify for the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships as the Southeast’s regional champion, she will be on her way to Flushing, N.Y., next week regardless.
Embree’s No. 5 ranking and her trip to this weekend’s quarterfinals guaranteed her an at-large bid to the championship’s singles draw. Her play earlier this season with partner Joanna Mather also qualified her into the doubles bracket.
“We should be encouraged because this weekend will help her, no question in mind,” Thornqvist said. “It will give us some tougher skin, and we lost to a great player [Monday], so there’s really not a whole lot to hang our heads (about).”
Florida junior Lauren Embree lost Monday’s singles final, but will still play in next week’s USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships.
