The Gators have won 10 consecutive matches, proving worthy of their No. 2 ranking over the last six weeks. Florida (15-1, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) has appeared crisp, composed and confident.
Looking back, however, it took a pretty thorough beating to get the Gators to this point. On February 12th, when Stanford hosted and defeated the the formerly top-ranked Florida 5-2, the home team clearly was the better squad. After losing to the Gators in last year’s national championship, the inspired Cardinals were simply overpowering.
“We knew Stanford was a good team, and we learned that we had a long way to go,” senior Joanna Mather said. “That was one of our first matches, so we needed a little more match experience before we went to Stanford. They wanted to beat us so bad, and I would have too. They were ready to play us at home again. We learned that we’re not invincible, and that’s a great lesson to learn.”
Mather was defeated in straight sets by Stanford’s Stacey Tan, the last time the senior lost. Since then, it has been a run of dominance. Mather, who started the season as the nation’s fourth-ranked singles player but now sits at 19th, said that she simply needed more time on the court.
“The girl I played is very talented and I just think that I needed more matches,” she said. “ I was feeling like every match I played, I was getting better and better. At that point, that was the best match I had played this year. But I’ve gotten better, and I guess that’s the only thing that’s changed is more matches.”
Another Gator who found Stanford as a valuable experience is Lauren Embree. The junior, who has been Florida’s most dominant singles player at times this year, said the loss caused the entire team to work harder. It’s a sentiment that was echoed several weeks ago by coach Roland Thornqvist.
“Since (Stanford), we’ve grown as a team,” Embree said. “We’re all playing a lot better, we’re all mentally there a lot better. We’re more of a team, and everyone has just worked really hard since then. Hopefully if we get a shot at them again and we can change the outcome.”
Embree, like Mather, has not lost since that day. In fact, she has only dropped one set since then. It’s been a blue-collar attitude for the Gators, according to Thornqvist, that has allowed them to play such good tennis recently. Like both of the players said, that fateful day in Palo Alto gave Florida the push it needed to return to championship form.
Will wins SEC Player of the Week: For the second time this season, junior Allie Will was named SEC Player of the Week. She defeated Auburn’s Jen Pfeifler 6-0, 6-1 on Friday evening before defeating No. 23 Mary Anne Macfarlane of Alabama 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday. Those wins were the 101st and 102nd of her career at Florida. Will also took home the honor in week two after wins against Baylor and Central Florida.
