A shot of redemption hung in the balance not just for the Gators as a whole, but individually for sophomore Josie Kuhlman as well.
In three bouts against the Commodores last season, the Ponte Vedra native was on the losing end of matches that would clinch the victory for Vanderbilt.
For every player, this game was revenge for last years’ game.
For Kuhlman it meant a little more.
The No. 18 Florida (9-2, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) women's tennis team defeated No. 5 Vanderbilt 4-2 to the Ring Tennis Complex, with Kuhlman clinching the win on the No. 5 court, 7-5, 6-2.
“I know for me, I've been looking forward to this since last May, since we lost in the Quarterfinals,” Kuhlman said. “This year, I kinda had a feeling I was going to clinch for some reason, and when I was last match on, I was like ‘ok, I got this.’”
The Gators bounced back from Thursday’s doubles point loss with a dominating doubles performance.
The No. 7 duo of sophomore Brooke Austin and junior Kourtney Keegan only dropped one game to defeat No. 61 Ellie Yates and Astra Sharma 6-1.
The No. 58 tandem of sophomore Anna Danilina and senior Brianna Morgan defeated Vandy’s Fernanda Contreras and Sydney Campbell 6-4 to give the Gators the doubles point and the 1-0 lead.
“We played really well in doubles. We have a lot of confidence in our doubles, so despite losing it on Thursday, we have a lot of confidence in doubles this year in all three pairings,” UF coach Roland Thornqvist. “Overall really, really happy. A great win against a really tough team.”
Where the first three courts for the Gators were lacking, the last three made up for in singles.
No. 81 Danilina was the first one off the court, earning a quick 6-2, 6-1 singles victory on the No. 6 court to take a 2-0 lead.
No. 5 junior Belinda Woolcock fell to No. 33 Sharma 6-3, 6-2 to put the score at 2-1.
Morgan defeated Georgina Sellyn 6-4, 6-1 to extended Florida’s lead to 3-1.
Vanderbilt (8-4, 1-2 SEC) would answer quickly, with No. 16 Frances Altick defeating No. 37 Keegan 6-3, 6-3, to put the score at 3-2.
In Kuhlman's match against Contreras, the first set was highly contested.
Back and forth, neither player could get an edge. Tied at 5-5, Kuhlman pulled away in the final two games to take the first set, 7-5.
The second set was a lot different.
Right off the bat Kuhlman went up 5-0. After Contreras won the next two games, the Gator would pull out the victory, winning 6-2 and giving Florida the win over the reigning champions.
“We were all super pumped. I know we didn't want to get too hyped for it, but we all just really wanted to win today. And I think coming out, we all knew that, we didn't need to say anything,” Kuhlman said.
The Gators have a week off before they travel to Oxford, Mississippi, to take on Ole Miss on Friday at 4 p.m.
Contact Jake Dreilinger at jdreilinger@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DreilingerJake.
Senior Josie Kuhlman scored the deciding point in Florida's 4-2 win over Arkansas in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. The Gators will face either Ole Miss or Vanderbilt for the title on Sunday.
