In a packed arena on Friday night, No. 14 Virginia gave the Gators trouble.
Trouble, but not a loss.
No. 2 Florida captured its first win of the National Team Indoors late last night with a gripping 4-2 win over the Cavaliers (3-1). The nail-biter marked the end of the Gators’ streak of four consecutive shutouts but extended their overall winning streak to five straight matches. Freshman Belinda Woolcock clinched the victory in 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 sets to extend Florida’s record at the national tournament to 45-11 all time.
For a large crowd of fans, the match did not lack excitement. The teams traded points the entire night in Florida’s closest match of the season, but the Gators (5-0) never trailed.
Senior Alexandra Cercone and freshman Stefani Stojic dropped the first doubles match 6-3, but watched Olivia Janowicz and Kourtney Keegan win theirs 6-3. The pressure shifted to Woolcock and senior Sofie Oyen, who rallied back from a 2-3 deficit to win 6-4 and secure the doubles point. The Gators led 1-0.
Virginia tied the match when the Cavaliers’ Julia Elbaba defeated Janowicz 6-0, 6-2 on the No. 1 court. The Gators quickly answered as Cercone came from behind to win 3-6, 6-3, 10-2 and took a 2-1 lead.
Next, it was Virginia’s turn to respond as Maci Epstein defeated Keegan 6-4, 6-4 and tied the game for the second, and final, time.
Morgan won 7-5, 6-4 to put the Gators up 3-2 with two matches still in play. Then, as her teammates watched, Woolcock seized the match point.
“We played fantastic doubles tonight and we found ways to win on the singles courts against a very, very good Virginia team. It was a great battle,” coach Roland Thornqvist said.
Look for the battles to continue tomorrow. Florida advances to the quarterfinals of the National Team Indoors and will play No. 16 Northwestern.
Sound familiar? To Thornqvist it does.
The last time the two teams met, Northwestern defeated Florida 4-3 in the quarterfinal matchup of the same tournament in 2010.
“We’re excited about advancing to play a tough Northwestern team on Saturday,” Thornqvist said.
Follow Ian Cohen on Twitter @ibcohen5
Stefani Stojic swings at the ball during Florida’s 4-0 win against Harvard at the Ring Tennis Complex.
