Brianna Morgan came out swinging to save herself in singles.
The freshman clinched second-ranked Florida’s 4-1 victory over No. 8-ranked Alabama after battling short balls in two fast-paced sets at Ring Tennis Complex Friday night.
Morgan swept up a ground ball from Antonia Foehse and put it to her corner to trip up the Crimson Tide player, who hit it straight in the net. Morgan’s quick decision grabbed her a 6-3 win in the second set.
Morgan knew going into singles that she had to take care of business, after she overshot a poach that cost Florida the doubles point.
“I feel like in doubles I kind of let the team down in the end,” Morgan said. “I thought it was really important that I could pull it out for us [in singles].”
Coach Roland Thornqvist added: “I was curious to see how Bri was going to respond in singles and I was really pleased to see she just shook that off like a scarred veteran. She’s showing maturity way beyond her years.”
Morgan’s strong serves gave her an edge over Foehse, sending her on runs that put many of her balls into the net.
“My serve is one of my biggest weapons,” Morgan said.
But Florida’s troubles have never been about controlling serve and finishing out singles.
Doubles play had its ups and downs on all courts.
The new pairing of Sofie Oyen and Danielle Collins showcased some chemistry, but the two couldn’t overcome Foehse and Maya Jansen in the final games. Oyen and Collins fell 8-5 to the Tide.
Morgan and Lauren Embree struggled against the sixth-ranked pairing of Alexa Guarachi and Maya Jansen. The Gators tied up score back and forth until a tiebreak was initiated. Embree showed control, sending the Tide pairing on runs to frontcourt and in the corners. But Morgan’s bouts of struggling came with a price: dropping the match by three points to the Tide.
The team of Olivia Janowicz and Alex Cercone gained a consistency the Gators could use in doubles. The two dropped a fast 8-3 decision on Emily Zabor and Natalia Maynetto.
Cercone showed a dedication to doubles, which impressed Thornqvist.
“She watched some film, made some decisions and commitments to a few things and boy did that make a difference,” Thornqvist said.
Cercone’s focus in doubles reflected in her singles play, hitting hard for a 6-3, 6-1 score and finishing first to tie up the scoreboard at 1-1.
“[Cercone] lost the first game of the match in singles fairly easily and after that it was just like a whooping,” Thornqvist said.
Janowicz also added an early win in singles to grab Florida a 2-1 lead. Embree finished out singles to cushion the lead with a 6-1, 6-3 victory.
The Gators’ win upset the Tide’s undefeated conference record this season. Thornqvist said being undefeated in this conference is “no easy feat.”
He said he wants his players to take each match as it comes and not take any for granted.
“We have to continue to do our part here and we’ll see where that takes us,” Thornqvist said.
Senior Lauren Embree hits a ball in Linder Stadium. Embree won her singles match against Alabama in straight sets on Friday.
