After a 4-0 debut against Elon on Saturday, the No. 2 UF women’s tennis team continued to hold ground on the second day of the ITA Kick Off Weekend.
Florida (2-0) downed Maryland 4-0 on Sunday, punching its ticket to February’s ITA National Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Doubles duo Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan clinched the doubles point after freshmen pair Josie Kuhlman and Peggy Porter beat Maryland’s Olivia Gaudreault and Alexandra Stanova (6-2).
Although Florida remains undefeated in doubles play, coach Roland Thornqvist still sees room for growth.
"Are we a well-oiled-machine at this point? Probably not, but we’re two matches into the year," Thornqvist said. "Certainly there’s loads of things we can get better at."
Once Florida pulled ahead in doubles, there was no stopping them after that point.
Sophomores Belinda Woolcock and Spencer Liang gave security to the Gators and set the tone for the rest of the match after winning their individual matches.
It was then that 2014 singles All-American Brianna Morgan stepped up to bring in the W for the Gators.
With much development to come throughout the season, Thornqvist said Morgan showed the younger athletes how it’s done.
"She is a great example. She was down I believe 4-1 in the second set and ends up clinching the match for us 6-4," Thornqvist said. "When you play this many new players and freshmen, you’re going to have a little bit more up and down in performance. They’re 18. This is their first go-around. And they’re playing against players, we have to realize that too, that most of the time they play with nothing to lose when they play against us."
After the 5-foot-8 junior came back from what was thought to be an upset in the second set of her match, it was no surprise to her coach what the results of the match would be.
"She is absolutely crucial for us," Thornqvist said. "She’s perhaps the best athlete we’ve had in the 14 years I’ve been here and today, by the end of the second set, she was flying side to side and her forehand was clicking and that’s great for the Gators."
Morgan said her head wasn’t entirely in the game in the second set until she turned the heat up on her opponent.
"I think I just got a little more focused and honed in on the goal," Morgan said. "I knew I wasn’t playing my best in those games where I got down and I was just like, ‘I need to focus’ and not really worry about the score but just worry about point after point."
Morgan said she’s confident that the freshmen will continue to grow in the early season, and the wins will only further accelerate their growth.
"They’re really mentally tough," Morgan said. "I think they can go the distance. No matter what the score is, they are going to fight no matter what."
Follow Caylee Underwood on Twitter @CayUnderwood
Brianna Morgan hits a two-handed backhand during Florida's 4-0 win against Elon on Saturday at the Ring Tennis Complex.
