Today was a day for firsts.
All three Florida freshmen suited up for the first time in their collegiate career, senior Alexandra Cercone played her first singles match at the No. 1 spot and the No. 2 ranked Gators won 4-0 in their first game of the season.
Florida’s win over Louisville in the first round of the ITA Kick Off increases its dominance in regular-season openers to a record of 39-3.
The last time women’s tennis lost their first game of the season?
Feb. 1, 1985.
“Overall I’m pretty pleased,” coach Roland Thornqvist said. “We’re 1-0 and we feel like we’re in the tournament now.”
The Gators took the doubles match point to take a 1-0 lead over Louisville. After Florida got on the scoreboard, its singles play did the rest.
Freshman Kourtney Keegan and senior Sophie Oyen won their singles match 6-0, 6-3 and 6-1, 6-2 respectively to secure the next two points for Florida, increasing their lead to 3-0. Soon after, freshman Stefani Stojic sealed the victory with a 6-4, 6-1 match win.
“I think [the freshmen] did a great job,” Cercone said. “The fact that Kourtney and Stefani both won their matches pretty handily is a good sign that they’ll be tough players for our team.”
Keegan was a bright spot for the Gators, easily winning her match to earn the first point in singles play.
“I was a little nervous,” she said. “But I just stuck with it. Sophie was really helpful during the doubles and I just kept my head in it during the singles and was able to pull through.”
The Gators will play Harvard on Sunday in the ITA Kick Off Weekend Championship.
“Tennis is a momentum sport, and when you get the confidence from a win you can definitely carry that into the next match. I think we’ll take a lot away from the doubles play and also the singles play where we got a lot done,” said Cercone.
The winner of Sunday’s match will advance to the National Team Indoor Championships held Feb. 7-10 in Charlottesville, Va.
Follow Ian Cohen on Twitter @ibcohen5
Kourtney Keegan serves the ball during her doubles match in Florida's 4-0 win against Louisville on Saturday.
