Hosting the first round of the NCAA Tournament worked even better than coach Roland Thornqvist could have expected.
Top-seeded Florida (23-2) swept Marist (11-8) on every court that finished in the Gators’ 4-0 victory at Linder Stadium on Saturday.
Florida came out ready in doubles, and it worked in their favor after the ups and downs throughout their regular season.
Senior Lauren Embree and junior Sofie Oyen attacked Karly Pang and Joana Sun’s court and dropped the Red Foxes 8-0.
Freshmen Danielle Collins and Brianna Morgan clinched the deciding doubles match for the first point of the day. Collins and Morgan dropped Melissa Carlay and Kaye Eastman quickly in another 8-0 sweep for the win.
“I was very pleased with our court positioning inside the service box,” Thornqvist said. “We spent many hours on it over the two-week lay off here. I really think we saw the fruits of that labor today. We were able to close, and when we closed we were able to find their feet almost every time in our volley duels.”
Singles began and the Gators added their 13th win to an undefeated home record this season.
Junior Alex Cercone was the first off the courts, working Sun up front and on the sides for a 6-0, two-set sweep.
Despite limited challenges from Sun, Cercone said the struggles were all mental.
“The most challenging part with these types of matches is staying disciplined, staying patient and staying focused,” Cercone said.
“It’s very difficult to get to a rhythm, so that’s where patience comes in. It’s very easy to lose focus when you’re up 6-0, 3-0, and you just start watching matches next to you. We just have to concentrate on those things.”
Embree followed suit shortly after Cercone grabbed a 2-0 lead for the Gators.
The senior tripped up Kelsey Raynor at midcourt in the final game. Raynor hustled to hit the ball and sent it out. Embree shut out Raynor 6-0 in both sets.
Brianna Morgan grabbed her fourth clincher since becoming a Gator, playing through a fast second set to shut out Marielle Campbell 6-0, 6-0. Campbell tripped up at the net, sealing Florida’s 4-0 victory.
The Gators shut out their opponents 6-0 in the first set on five courts, with Olivia Janowicz winning the first set at 6-1.
Florida faces No. 23 Georgia Tech in round two on Sunday, and Thornqvist said it will be a tough matchup.
“[Georgia Tech is] very well coached,” Thornqvist said.
“[Head coach Rodney Harmon] has seen his fair share of tennis balls, so he’s certainly going to know how to prepare his team tonight.”
Georgia Tech grabbed a close 4-3 win over Yale for its spot in round two.
For Carolina Hitimana and Embree, this will be their final home match as Gators.
“I’m just going to go out there and play like I have always been playing these past four years and not think about it too much,” Embree said. “I’m just going to have fun and compete really hard, and hopefully it will be good for us.”
Florida faces Georgia Tech at Linder Stadium at 1 p.m.
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.
