It’s a familiar storyline — a poor start in doubles play, a hostile road crowd and a hole too deep to dig out of once singles play begins.
But when it was announced Sunday’s match would begin with singles play rather than doubles, No. 5 Florida (13-4, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) had a chance to flip the script on a theme that has become all too common this season.
But it didn’t, and the story continues.
Florida’s plan to steal a road win against No. 8 Alabama (15-2, 7-0 SEC) quickly unraveled as UF squandered two leads — one in singles and another in doubles — to fall 4-3 to the Crimson Tide. It was the most tightly contested match of the season for Roland Thornqvist’s Gators.
“This was a fantastic college tennis match,” Thornqvist said. “Congrats to Alabama, they were outstanding in the clutch.”
Senior Olivia Janowicz grabbed a 6-1, 6-3 win for the Gators to begin the scoring. Next, Belinda Woolcock fell 6-3, 6-2 to even the score at 1.
Florida answered with two consecutive points in straight sets, as Alexandra Cercone pulled out a 6-1, 6-3 victory and Brianna Morgan defeated Alabama’s Mary Anne Daines 7-5, 6-2.
The Gators led 3-1, but that was last time they would score.
The Tide’s Erin Routliffe defeated Sofie Oyen 6-3, 7-6 to bring her team within one.
The pressure fell on freshman Kourtney Keegan, who was caught in a tug-of-war third set while her teammates looked on.
Keegan finally fell 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, and ‘Bama forced doubles action.
At first, it didn’t appear as though Florida‘s scoring drought would continue into doubles.
Janowicz and Keegan held their opponent scoreless in a decisive 10-0 win to capture the first match, but Cercone and Morgan fell 10-5.
The focus turned to Court 1, where Woolcock and Oyen were leading Alabama’s No. 8 doubles duo of Mary Jansen and Routliffe 9-8.
But the lead was short-lived, and Alabama rallied to take the match 12-10 and secure the win.
“We are disappointed but must continue to work on the little details that can make us better,” Thornqvist said.
On Friday, Florida cruised to a 4-0 win over No. 20 Auburn in which each player won in straight sets in the team’s 11th shutout of the season.
The Gators ended their road trip with a 2-2 record, losing to two top-15 ranked opponents.
UF will play Arkansas on Friday and LSU on Sunday as part of its two-match home stand before heading back on the road.
Follow Ian Cohen on Twitter @ibcohen5
Sofie Oyen returns a ball during Florida’s 7-0 win against Florida State on Feb. 18 at the Ring Tennis Complex.
