Four Gators will be returning to Gainesville with trophies from this weekend’s Duke Invite in Cary, North Carolina.
“We pride ourselves on being the best on the last day,” women’s coach Roland Thornqvist said in a release.
“Heading home with four trophies is a good feeling,” said senior Brianna Morgan.
Morgan, who did not lose a set throughout the entire tournament, defeated UNC’s Cassandra Vazquez 6-1, 6-2 to take home the first place title in the Blue draw.
Juniors Belinda Woolcock, Kourtney Keegan and Spencer Liang also took home titles with wins in their respective draws. Woolcock took home the title with a score of 6-2, 7-6 (4) over another UNC competitor, Marika Akkerman. Liang took home the Royal draw consolation finals title by defeating North Carolina State University’s Joanna Nalborska.
Keegan’s competitor, Chalena Scholl of Duke, retired in the second set while being down in the match 6-3, 3-0.
“What a great way to end the first tournament of the fall with a perfect last day,” Women’s coach Roland Thornqvist said, “I thought we both played great and competed well,”
The Gators started the tournament strong with wins in both doubles and singles, but soon began faltering during the second round.
Sophomore and newcomer Anna Danilina started her semifinals match with a first set win but eventually fell to Virginia’s Skylar Morton in three sets (4-6, 6-0, 7-5). Morton finished the 2014-2015 season with a singles record of 27-14.
Sophomore Peggy Porter also lost in her semifinals match against Akkerman (6-2, 6-3). Akkerman would later go on to lose in the finals to Belinda Woolcock.
The Gator doubles teams walked away with an overall record of 1-2 in Saturday’s doubles finals. Liang and Porter were the lone Gator victors after shutting out Barbara Mancera and Amanda Rebol of NCSU.
Woolcock and Keegan would eventually fall to Duke’s Samantha Harris and Kaitlyn McCarthy in an 8-7(6) matchup.
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Brianna Morgan awaits a serve during Florida's 4-0 win against Maryland on Jan. 25 at the Ring Tennis Complex. Morgan defeated Georgia Tech's Kendal Woodard, 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 3 position on Saturday to help the Gators advance to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16.
