During Southeastern Conference play, No. 6 Florida has been dominant in singles matches.
After a strong showing at No. 13 Auburn on Sunday, the bottom of Florida’s lineup has gone 27-1 in SEC singles play. The last three courts have seen clinches, sweeps and perfect sets in 11 SEC games this season.
And Sunday’s matchup was no different.
With all three wins coming from courts four, five and six, the Gators (16-2, 11-0 SEC) defeated the Tigers (20-5, 8-3 SEC) 4-0 at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Only two dual matches stand in the way of a perfect SEC record.
"We played really well. It was a fighting match in doubles," coach Roland Thornqvist said in a release. "The No. 2 doubles were flawless today and then we had to dig out of a little bit of a hole at No. 1 doubles. They played really well at the end."
Behind a strong performance in doubles from the No. 31 pair of Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock, the Gators got on the board early.
Kuhlman and Woolcock defeated Paula de Man and Caroline Turner 6-2.
With the other two matches tied at 6-6, the doubles point could have flipped either way.
But No. 7 Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan would clinch the doubles point for Florida with a close 7-6 victory.
While it came down to one point in doubles, singles play was a different story.
No. 47 Keegan was off the courts first with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Alannah Griffin to put Florida ahead by two.
No. 109 Kuhlman took down Auburn’s de Man 6-4, 6-1 to put the Gators within striking distance of clinching the match.
And No. 70 Anna Danilina would gain the final point for UF with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Turner to give Florida the sweep.
Strong singles play at the end of the regular season is exactly where the Gators want to be.
On top of their ability to gain the doubles point, having a deep lineup that remains consistent against any opponent will prove crucial come time for the postseason.
"Overall in singles, we played really well. It is always nice to see the one player off the court super quick and from start to finish, Kourtney was clinical today," Thornqvist said. "We feel really good about this weekend and we feel like we are getting stronger."
The Gators finish off the regular season next weekend against No. 4 Georgia on Friday and Tennessee on Sunday.
Contact Jake Dreilinger jdreilinger@alligator.org and you can follow him on Twitter @DreilingerJake.
Roland Thornqvist looks on as his team competes in singles during its win against South Florida on Jan. 27, 2016, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
