With the season drawing to a close, history is on the line for Florida.
The Gators can be crowned Southeastern Conference champions for the fifth year in a row. They also have an opportunity to vie for a National Title for the third time in four years.
Needless to say, the season’s final week is a vital one for the young Florida team, especially with No. 8 Vanderbilt visiting on Friday.
But before they begin preparation for their final two matches, the No. 7 Gators (17-4, 9-2 SEC) had to earn a hard fought 4-2 victory over No. 24 Ole Miss (11-7, 5-6) on Sunday.
“Overall, I felt like we played okay,” coach Roland Thornqvist said in a release. “It was really high quality on every court... We showed poise and we were strong at the end of long rallies which is what we’re trying to focus on now in the latter stages of the Spring.”
Florida was forced to complete all six singles matches against its SEC foe, but was able to clinch the two-point victory without playing a doubles match.
No. 10 singles player Olivia Janowicz grabbed a 6-2, 6-0 win to lead off the match, followed by a quick 6-2, 6-2 victory from Sofie Oyen. Alexandra Cercone struggled slightly on Court 3, losing 5-7, 0-6 to bring Ole Miss within one. It was the first time all season Cercone was held scoreless in a singles set.
Kourtney Keegan captured the next point with a 7-6, 6-1 win, but fellow freshman Belinda Woolcock fell 6-4, 7-6 to bring Ole Miss within one again.
UF sealed the victory when Brianna Morgan pulled out a tightly contested 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 win on Court 1.
“Brianna showed great poise at the end of her match to clinch it,” Thornqvist said. “After losing the second set she really jumped on the third set early with some big forehands and I was proud to see how she responded after losing that tiebreak.”
Sunday’s win came two days after Florida swept Mississippi State 4-0 in the Gators’ 14th shutout of the season. Keegan won each of her three weekend matches after being named SEC Freshman of the Week on Wednesday.
The Gators will need Keegan to continue her strong play when they face Vanderbilt on Friday.
“We’re ready to come home and play a really, really tough Vanderbilt team,” Thornqvist said. “We’ll have to be ready to play great tennis on Friday.”
Follow Ian Cohen on Twitter @ibcohen5
Olivia Janowicz swings at the ball during Florida’s 4-0 win against Harvard on Jan. 26 at the Ring Tennis Complex.
