Freshmen Danielle Collins and Brianna Morgan will learn first hand how rowdy opposing tennis teams’ fans can get.
Collins and second-ranked Florida face two consecutive away matches this weekend against fourth-ranked Duke and No. 1 North Carolina.
The formerly eighth-ranked UNC team stole UF's first-place ITA ranking. The Tar Heels shut out the Blue Devils on Sunday and earned a 4-3 victory against then-No. 2 UCLA on Monday.
Coach Roland Thornqvist said the freshmen are in for a surprise with how loud the North Carolina crowd gets.
“It’ll be fun to see our freshmen be in [North Carolina’s] environment and how they handle that experience,” Thornqvist said.
Collins expects a rowdy crowd at UNC, but will not let the fans control her focus.
The Gators have yet to face the current Tar Heels roster. Inclement weather caused the cancellation of last year’s matchup in Gainesville.
The last time time Florida played Duke, UF won 4-3, earning a spot in the NCAA
final. Alexandra Cercone battled through a three-set match to earn the deciding point.
“That match was such a blur, but definitely the result was something I’ll never forget,” Cercone said. “They have a different team this year, so do we, so it’s going to be a completely different match than what happened in May.”
The Gators have the disadvantage of playing two straight top-five opponents on the road, but Thornqvist said the team’s new dynamic should be effective.
“Our two national championship teams were probably a little bit more defensive than what this team is turning out to be,” Thornqvist said. “We’re a better ball-striking team and have better pace. I think that’ll help us … especially on weekends like this where we may have to go indoors.”
With a 50/50 chance of playing indoors during their North Carolina match-ups, the Gators have to translate their outside dominance to the inside courts.
“I feel like we really have a good indoor team this year,” Thornqvist said. “Most years I’m a little sensitive about the indoor/outdoor switch – this is not one of those years.”
Freshman Danielle Collins returns a serve during UF’s 7-0 win against USF on Jan. 29 at Linder Stadium. Collins teamed with Olivia Janowicz to win the only doubles match for the Gators on Friday.
