The doubles point is something that coach Roland Thornqvist has stressed over and over again.
In Thursday’s match against Florida State in Tallahassee, Florida backed up its coach’s words.
The No. 3 Gators (2-0) defeated the Seminoles (5-2) 6-1 in a match that was much closer than what the score indicated.
"We had some really good battles in singles and I was curious to see how a couple of our players, who lost their matches here last year, would want to handle themselves today," Thornqvist said in a release.
Florida struck first in doubles.
The No. 5 duo of sophomore Brooke Austin and junior Kourtney Keegan started off the match strong for the Gators, defeating Daneika Borthwick and Gabriella Castaneda, 6-3.
After falling behind 4-0 to FSU’s Ariana Rahmanparast and Lana Rush, the No. 50 tandem of sophomore Anna Danilina and senior Brianna Morgan wouldn’t go down easily, winning six straight games to clinch the doubles point 6-4 and give the Gators a 1-0 lead.
The singles matches were just as close.
No. 25 Keegan and No. 56 sophomore Josie Kuhlman found themselves down early, while No. 73 junior Spencer Liang and No. 11 Austin were neck-and-neck with their respective opponents in the first set.
But No. 51 Morgan and No. 110 Danilina took command early, building leads and never letting go.
Danilina defeated Rush 6-2, 6-3, to give the Gators a 2-0 lead over the Seminoles.
Down 0-3 in the first set against Castaneda, Kuhlman regained her composure and took the next six games to win the first set 6-3. In the second set, Kuhlman dominated, winning 6-2 and giving the Gators a 3-0 lead.
Morgan was in control for most of her match. Trailing only once, she defeated Julia Mikulski in convincing fashion, winning 6-3, 6-1, and clinching the victory for the Gators.
Austin’s match against Borthwick was close throughout the first set, which saw four ties. In the end, Austin took the match 7-6, 6-1.
Keegan struggled in her first set, trailing 4-0 to Yukako Noi at the start. After dropping the first set 6-2, Keegan came back in the second set stronger, winning 6-4. Because the Gators already clinched the dual match, the third set was halted after one game, which Keegan won 1-0.
It was Liang, though, who would fall to Rahmanparast 4-6, 6-2, 1-0. Another close match saw a lot of back and forth action, but ultimately Rahmanparast would finish on top.
The Gators face No. 4 Southern California (3-0) on Sunday before beginning a stretch that includes No. 1 Vanderbilt on March 12 and No. 2 Georgia on April 15.
The Trojans lost four seniors from last year’s team in Gabriella DeSimone, Casey Reed, Sabrina Santamaria and Zoe Scandalis. But USC also gained four freshman in Jessica Failla, Alex Letzt, Rianna Valdes and Kristen Venter.
The Gators face USC at the Ring Tennis Complex at 11 a.m.
"Overall, I was very pleased, and this was exactly what we wanted before Southern California," Thornqvist said. "One more match under our belt."
Contact Jake Dreilinger at jdreilinger@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DreilingerJake.
UF's Kourtney Keegan hits a forehand during Florida's 6-1 win over USF on Jan. 27, 2016, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
