After falling to Southeastern Conference newcomer Texas A&M in the regular season, Florida got its revenge.
The Gators won 4-1 over the Aggies in the SEC semifinals Saturday night.
Freshman Brianna Morgan grabbed her first conference-tournament clincher after a rocky start.
Morgan came out in the first unlike her usual self. The freshman fell 1-6 to Ines Deheza in the first set and trailed in the second. Morgan grabbed two consecutive games in the second to win it 6-4 and force a third set. Morgan battled back in the third in the toughest match she’s seen in her first season at Florida. She shut out Deheza 6-0 in the third to clinch Florida’s 4-1 victory.
Singles came easy this time around for the Gators.
Olivia Janowicz finished first for the Gators dropping Anna Mamalat 6-2 in two sets.
Janowicz lost to Mamalat in the regular season.
Sofie Oyen gave the Gators a 2-1 lead, defeating Cristina Stancu 6-3 in the first set and 6-2 in the second.
Stancu beat Oyen 7-5, 6-0 in the team’s earlier meeting.
Senior Lauren Embree won out for the second time against Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar, dropping the Aggie 6-2 in the first and 6-1 in the second.
Alex Cercone and Danielle Collins were tied in their third sets once Morgan grabbed the clincher.
Doubles was Florida’s weakness once again in the tournament.
Collins and Morgan dropped 4-8 to Ines Dehaza and Paula Dehaza to finalize an Aggies 1-0 lead going into singles
Senior Caroline Hitimana and Cercone previously lost 5-8 to Stefania Hirstov and Stancu to put the pressure on Collins and Morgan.
Embree and Oyen were the prime Gator pairing, winning their doubles match Saturday. The Gators defeated Wen Sun and Sanchez-Quintanar 8-2.
Florida will compete for its 19th SEC Tournament title in Sunday’s final match.
Senior Lauren Embree returns a ball during Florida’s 4-1 win against Georgia on March 15. Embree lost to Stanford's Nicole Gibbs 6-0, 6-1 as the Cardinal defeated the Gators 4-3 to advance to the NCAA title match.
