You would normally see Spencer Liang and Peggy Porter on the sideline cheering on their teammates and anxiously waiting for their opportunity for Florida’s women’s tennis team.
They were given their opportunity to shine on Saturday against Missouri, and they rewarded coach Roland Thornqvist’s faith in them as Liang and Porter delivered victories as No. 15 Florida (7-2, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) defeated Missouri 6-1 on Saturday at the Ring Tennis Complex.
Porter’s clinched the victory for the Gators, while Liang’s win extended the victory even further.
The Gators struck first, earning the doubles point.
The No. 7 tandem of sophomore Brooke Austin and junior Kourtney Keegan defeated No. 46 Kelli Hine and Bea Machado Santos 6-0. The No. 19 duo of sophomore Josie Kuhlman and junior Belinda Woolcock sealed the deal for Florida, defeating Brianna Lashway and Cassidy Spearman 6-4.
“I thought we played OK. It was a little creaky in doubles, I felt,” Thornqvist said in a release. “We started a bit slow and were down 3-love through the first three games. That is always going to be tough just playing to six with no-ad scoring.”
Singles play was all Florida.
No. 72 Kuhlman swiftly defeated Hine 6-2, 6-0 giving the Gators a 2-0 lead. Not long after, No. 6 Woolcock took down Lashway 6-2, 6-0 and Florida needed only one more match to clinch the victory.
The clinch would come from Porter, who routed Clare Raley 6-3, 6-2 sealing the win for Florida over Missouri (12-3, 0-2 SEC).
Liang defeated Brittany Lashway 6-2, 6-3 to put Florida ahead 5-0.
No. 67 sophomore Anna Danilina took down Spearman 6-2, 6-3 to put UF one match away from their second-consecutive sweep.
But Missouri still had some fight left in them.
No. 12 Austin dropped the first set to Machado Santos 6-4. She would bounce back in the second set, winning 6-4 and forcing a third set.
Missouri avoided the sweep, though, with Machado Santos winning the third set 1-0.
Despite the loss, Thornqvist was pleased with his team’s singles play.
“Singles was really good. We are starting to roll the ball more when we should and not just go for it all the time,” Thornqvist said. “That is going to be much better for us with the temperature and the humidity is changing. You need to be able to roll and get the ball up.”
The Gators take the court twice next week at the Ring Tennis Complex against two ranked opponents. Florida takes on No. 17 Kentucky March 10 at 5 p.m., then face No. 8 Vanderbilt on March 12 at 1 p.m.
Contact Jake Dreilinger at jdreilinger@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DreilingerJake.
Peggy Porter returns a ball during Florida's win against Maryland on Jan. 25, 2015, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
