Florida senior Lauren Embree was the No. 1 recruit coming out of high school, won two Southeastern Conference Player of the Year awards and secured the Gators’ national championship with a comeback victory in 2011.
After Sunday, she can add a Grand Slam tournament win to her resume.
The No. 3-seeded Embree defeated Virginia’s Julia Elbaba (2-6, 6-3, 6-4) in the singles championship of the Riviera/ITA All American Tournament.
Elbaba, the fourth-ranked freshman in the nation, had been on a tear in the Riviera, winning 10 straight matches to get to the championship. Her hot start carried over to the first set against Embree.
But Embree showed why she was the sixth-ranked player in the nation, displaying poise and skill while winning the second set.
“I think I played a little nervous in the first set and [Elbaba] was just teeing off on my shots,” Embree said. “Then I started being more aggressive and just kept fighting and hanging in there. She’s a great player and a tough competitor.”
Elbaba was serving with a 4-2 lead in the third set, but Embree won four consecutive games to secure the match.
“Today was vintage Lauren Embree — again,” associate head coach Dave Balogh said. “Julia came out hitting the ball as hard as she could and everything was going in. But once again, Lauren refused to go away.
“She just hung in there, competed, fought and scraped. Great players come up big in the clutch moments, and Lauren did that this afternoon.”
Embree is the fourth Gator to win the Riviera/ITA All-American Singles Championship. Previous winners Jill Craybas (1995), Jessica Lehnhoff (2001) and Allie Will (2011) all went on to play professionally after their collegiate careers at Florida.
Embree will look to polish her resume and lead the Gators to another national championship this season. For now, Embree will live in the moment.
“It feels great and special to win this my senior year,” Embree said.
UF senior Lauren Embree won her first Grand Slam tournament of her collegiate career on Sunday. Embree defeated Virginia's Julia Elbaba in three sets to clinch the Riviera/ITA All-American Tournament.
