On Monday, Florida women’s tennis coach Roland Thornqvist had a smile on his face.
The No. 4 Gators had just swept two formidable opponents in No. 3 Georgia and Tennessee to capture the Southeastern Conference regular-season title and a perfect conference record.
But now, Thornqvist is looking ahead to the SEC tournament, where the Gators, who enter as the No. 1 seed, will face the winner of LSU and Kentucky.
No matter who they face, Thornqvist believes his team will be ready.
LSU is the home team, as the tournament takes place in Baton Rouge.
Kentucky was able to defeat Florida in doubles.
Both teams didn’t fare well in singles play against the Gators, as LSU only got one singles victory and Kentucky didn’t get any.
"If you are fortunate enough to play in the finals of the SEC tournament," Thornqvist said, "...If you’re not ready physically there, it’s going to affect your play in many more ways than just your legs."
But Florida has a slight edge over whoever it faces, having beaten every team in the SEC this season.
It’s an impressive feat considering the SEC consistently features some of the best teams in the nation.
All of the conference's teams have the talent to compete for a national title.
In addition, Florida has been riding a wave of momentum since the start of conference play.
With complete confidence in his team, Thornqvist knows he can rely on the seven players he runs in singles and the four doubles pairings to get the job done.
In 13 conference matches, only two teams have beaten Florida in doubles play.
In singles, the Gators own a 52-5 record in the SEC. Three players are riding winning streaks.
Anna Danilina has won 11 in a row, Spencer Liang has won seven straight and Brooke Austin has won six.
This momentum isn’t uncharacteristic for this team. Every player — except Danilina — was on the team last year, so everyone is familiar with the postseason.
Florida will rely on its durability rather than its fastball approach.
And a lot of that has to do with how Thornqvist has transitioned his team into a mindset of postseason preparation over the last months.
"We’re fitter, we’re tougher. The physical side of it probably the only thing that’s different," Thornqvist said.
"And if you’re not there physically, that’s going to affect you mentally. We have a saying, ‘Fatigue makes a coward of us all.’"
Contact Jake Dreilinger at jdreilinger@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DreilingerJake
Brooke Austin hits an open-stance backhand during Florida women's tennis' 4-0 win against Elon on Jan. 24, 2015, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
