After Florida dropped a heart-wrenching semifinals match to Stanford, coach Roland Thornqvist had nothing but praise for his team.
“Our players were battling their hearts out,” Thornqvist said in a release. “It looked so grim for us, down 3-0, but somehow we found a way and gave ourselves a chance to win. That’s one thing about this team – they just never give up.”
The loss cost the reigning national champions a shot at their third straight national title, but it didn’t diminish a successful season.
Florida finished the year with a 26-3 record, with 23 of its wins coming against ranked opponents.
The Gators now say goodbye to Lauren Embree and Caroline Hitimana – two seniors who were members of Florida’s back-to-back championship squads.
Embree ended her career as ITA’s National Senior Player of the Year and the first three-time Southeastern Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Year in conference history.
Embree completed her final season at Florida with an undefeated 20-0 record before she fell to Stanford’s Nicole Gibbs in the NCAA semifinals.
But her final match did not fully represent her time at Florida. Embree clinched the final points in the 2011 and 2012 NCAA Championship matches to grab Florida the title both years.
“I have no regrets coming to college,” Embree said in a release. “Honestly, they’re the best four years I’ve had of my life. It has really changed me in so many ways.”
Thornqvist added: “There’s not much more I can say about Lauren that I can say that I haven’t already. She’s a champion. She’s one of the greatest four-year collegiate tennis players in history. She’s meant so much to our program on and off the court and her legend will continue on our future Gator teams who learned from her preparation and training.”
Although she is not as decorated as Embree, Hitimana also made an impact at Florida.
The Waterloo, Belgium, native gave the Gators an edge in SEC play. She was the deciding factor in Florida’s final 2012 SEC Tournament match, grabbing the Gators’ third consecutive SEC Championship in a singles battle against Georgia’s Alina Jerjomina.
Hitimana leaves Florida with a 73-18 career record. She went undefeated in singles at 11-0 in her last season.
Despite the loss of a strong senior duo, Florida has impact players across the board in 2013-14. Sofie Oyen, Alex Cercone and Olivia Janowicz rise to senior status with impressive records under their belts.
Oyen entered the 2013 season as ITA’s top-ranked collegiate tennis player, and she goes into her senior year with an 80-24 career record.
Cercone developed her game this year, struggling in the fall but dominating the spring season with a 20-4 record.
Janowicz stepped up in the latter half of the season to grab 16 straight wins – five of them coming in NCAA Tournament matchups.
Freshman Brianna Morgan is another contender for Florida after ending her inaugural season with a 20-3 spring record and five clinchers against ranked opponents.
But the season was not an easy one for UF. Doubles play was a weakness for the Gators this year. They lost 10 doubles matches, culminating in a loss to Stanford in the NCAA semifinals.
“It’s been challenging because we haven’t had the doubles issues in the past like we did this year, but our players handled it with resiliency,” Thornqvist said. “We lost it more this year than any other year that I’ve been here. We found a way to still be competitive against top teams throughout the year. I’m just really proud of them.”
Senior Lauren Embree serves during a match between Florida and Georgia on Oct. 24, 2011, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
