After dropping the doubles point for the second time this season against the Commodores, the Gators pulled out a singles wins to send themselves to the SEC semifinals.
Florida (20-2, 13-1 SEC) took down Vanderbilt (15-11, 7-6 SEC) 4-1 when senior Caroline Hitimana clinched the final point for the Gators.
Hitimana played close sets, closing out the both against Francis Altick 6-2.
Senior Lauren Embree previously edged out No. 59 Lauren Mira 6-2 in both sets to grab the 3-1 lead over Vanderbilt.
Alex Cercone dominated Georgina Sellyn’s serve in the final games of the second set to grab Florida another singles point. The junior defeated Sellyn 6-3 in the first set and 6-2 in the second.
Olivia Janowicz swept up the first point early on for the Gators, taking over Ashleigh Antal’s court 6-1 in the first and holding serve at the end of the second to seal her 6-2 edge for the win.
Freshman Brianna Morgan and junior Sofie Oyen struggled in singles, playing into three sets that were suspended after Hitimana’s clincher.
Morgan came out strong in the first, winning it 6-2 over Marie Casares. But going into the second, Morgan had to battle for wins. The freshman closed the gap to 4-5, but Casares won the sixth point to force the third set. Morgan led 2-1 before the match suspension.
Oyen had the same trouble in her singles match against Courtney Colton. The junior took over 6-2 in the first, but couldn’t get past Colton in the second and dropped the set 3-6. Oyen trailed 1-2 in the third before the match suspension.
Doubles came and went with the same result as in the Gators’ regular-season match with the Commodores.
Embree and Oyen fought hard, grabbing games back and forth, but couldn’t hold out for the last two games. Their 6-8 loss against Colton and Mira sealed the Commodores’ victory in doubles and the first point of the match.
Cercone and Hitimana couldn’t make it past Casares and Antal, trailing 3-8 for the loss.
Freshman Danielle Collins and Janowicz were the star pairing of the night, grabbing an 8-2 win over Sellyn and Altick to give the Gators one last chance to turn their luck in doubles. However, Embree and Oyen’s loss sealed Florida’s fate in doubles.
The Gators head into the semifinals Saturday, facing Texas A&M for the first time since their loss at College Station on March 3.
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.
