Olivia Janowicz fought tooth and nail to grab a win.
Even with a Florida victory in the bag, the junior didn’t give up the fight and found herself clinching Florida’s 7-0 victory over Ole Miss on Saturday at Ring Tennis Complex.
Janowicz had a rocky start in the first set of singles against Marija Milutinovic, dropping the set 3-6 to the Rebel.
“In the first three games, I honestly didn’t step up to the plate, and I didn’t really challenge her much,” Janowicz said. “[Milutinovic] got some momentum going and really impressed me with her play.”
Despite being the only Gator to drop a first set, Janowicz hit stronger in the second, dominating 6-2 and forcing a 10-point tie break in the third set. The junior found her groove hitting long balls that evened up the score to 9-9 and tripped up Milutinovic at the net in two games to grab a 1-0 win.
“You have to really hone in and focus on every single point because every point counts,” Janowicz said about the tiebreak. “I knew today was just a day where I was going to hit some errors, and I just needed to build up my mentality to relax, focus and stay positive.”
Coach Roland Thornqvist added: “The neat thing about Olivia was she couldn’t hit a ball in the ocean in the first set, and I felt for her. When you’re not playing well, you have to go to plan B or plan C and still be able to execute, and that’s pretty impressive she could do that.”
Janowicz’s match wasn’t the only challenge for the Gators.
The Gators fought the wind and temperature drop during doubles to make an impact on the Rebels’ courts.
With the Lauren Embree and Sofie Oyen pairing back in swing, the two Gators matched up Milutinovic and Caroline Rohde-Moe’s frontcourt attack for eight games. The Gators grabbed an 8-2 win when Oyen volleyed and sliced at the net to trip up the Rebels.
Freshmen Danielle Collins and Brianna Morgan played short hits to counteract Mai El Kamash and Julia Jones’ volleying game. The pairing won the doubles point for the Gators with an 8-2 finish a minute after Embree and Oyen’s win.
Florida showed its strength in singles, grabbing two-set wins on five courts.
Alex Cercone’s rapid hits to corners tripped up Kamash at the net for a 6-1 second-set finish and put the Gators up by two over the Rebels.
Oyen, Morgan and Caroline Hitimana dominated their matches in two sets.
Embree had a close first set against Rohde-Moe, finishing on top at 6-4. Embree punished the Rebels junior in the second with quick slices and shut her out 6-0.
Thornqvist said the team is making strides in their game and that it will help them in the tournament stretch.
“I think we sort have found an identity as a team, and I think each day we’ve been following that blueprint,” Thornqvist said.
Olivia Janowicz prepares to return a serve in a match against Duke in 2011.
