The No. 3 Florida women’s tennis team is riding into its spring season on a wave of momentum following successful Spring and Fall seasons.
Under coach Roland Thornqvist, the Gators made an impressive postseason run in the Spring, meeting Vanderbilt in the NCAA Team Quarterfinals and placing a Gator in the semifinals of both the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships.
The Gators’ NCAA Tournament meeting with the Commodores was their third matchup — and third UF loss — of the season. Florida was leading 3-1, but a late effort by Vanderbilt led to a come-from-behind victory that sent the Commodores to the semifinals.
In the NCAA Singles Championship, then-freshman Josie Kuhlman was defeated in the semifinals by Stanford’s Carol Zhao 2-6, 6-4, 6-0. Kuhlman finished the season 37-11, the best singles record of all Gators last spring.
The duo of then-freshman Brooke Austin and then-sophomore Kourtney Keegan also made it to the semifinals, falling to California’s Klara Fabikova and Zsofi Susanyi 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
The Gators were 11-4 in top-25 matchups, with impressive wins over Georgia, Oklahoma State, Alabama and Virginia.
Last year’s team of seven players added another for the Fall season. Sophomore Anna Danilina enrolled at Florida over the summer.
The Moscow, Russia, native immediately made an impact, winning the doubles title at the Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic with senior Brianna Morgan.
The titles didn’t end there. Morgan, Keegan and junior Belinda Woolcock each won singles titles at the Duke Bonk Invitational.
All four Gator doubles teams reached the semifinals at the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Championships, guaranteeing a Gator doubles victory. Electing to play the semifinals and the finals at the Ring Tennis Complex at UF, Kuhlman and Woolcock bested sophomore Peggy Porter and junior Spencer Liang.
At the USTA Clay Court Invitational, Kuhlman and Morgan defeated Porter and Liang in an all-Gator matchup for the doubles title.
With every player returning from last season, the experienced Gators look to improve on a successful 24-4 season.
The Spring season will feature six schools that finished in the top-10 last spring: Vanderbilt, USC, Georgia, California, Baylor and Texas A&M.
Against schools in the top-10 at the time Florida played them, the Gators went 4-4 in 2015.
The season begins Jan. 15 at the UNLV Invite in Las Vegas.
Follow Jake Dreilinger on Twitter @DreilingerJake
UF coach Roland Thornqvist talks with Brianna Morgan during Florida's 4-0 win against Maryland on Jan. 25, 2015, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
