Florida’s women’s tennis team got off to a positive start to its dual season.
The No. 2 Gators played in their first match and tournament of the season last weekend.
The tournament resulted in a 4-0 victory against Elon on Saturday and a 4-0 victory over No. 68 Maryland on Sunday.
The win earned the Gators a spot in the ITA National Indoor Championship on Feb. 6 through Feb. 9 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Florida coach Roland Thornqvist was pleased with the performance made by his young team.
"As far as singles in concerned, we got three decided points on each match, " Thornqvist said. "Those came from six different players and I’m hoping that is going to be a strength in this team to where we can plug in any of our eight players and get a point from anyone on any given day."
So far, youth has yet to be a problem for the second ranked team.
The only struggle Thornqvist has to worry about at this point is who will play next.
"I think our depth can be a great strength and I guess for me as a coach, selecting the six who are going to play everyday may be a little more complicated then I perhaps expected going into the year," the 14th-year coach said.
With only one upperclassman on the team in junior Brianna Morgan, Thornqvist expects Morgan to step up like she did in day two of the ITA tournament.
Playing on the No. 3 court against Maryland’s Ekaterina Tour, Morgan fell into a 4-1 hole in the second set.
But the Beverly Hills, California, native rebounded to take a 6-4 win to complete the sweep and clinch the match.
"At the end of the match, that’s the kind of play we expect from (Morgan) and look, if we can get her to play at that level all the time then we’re going to be a very dangerous team," Thornqvist said. "We need her to be consistent in her performance, she’s the oldest one on the team and I know our freshman look at her when they play a little bit."
As the year progresses, so will Florida’s competition.
Thornqvist believes that any amount of competition to roll their way will not be a problem for the Gators.
"I think our practices generally, we play points amongst ourselves we’re playing against some of the best players in the country everyday in practice," Thornqvist said. "We’re not hitting and firing on all cylinders. … It’s the end of January and we have a long way to go to be perfect and what we need to be but I feel good about this team… Wednesday is just another day to get to where we need to be."
Follow Caylee Underwood on Twitter @CayUnderwood
Coach Roland Thornqvist looks down the courts of the Ring Tennis Complex during Florida's 4-0 win against Louisville on Aug. 25.
