In his 16 years coaching at the University of Florida, Roland Thornqvist has never struggled with choosing his team’s lineup.
Until now.
With eight talented and experienced players, the Gators women’s tennis coach has had to devote his time to figuring out his own team before looking ahead.
“Usually, I can sort of envision and see what our final and best product is going to be, but at this point right now, I haven’t even spent two seconds thinking about DePaul this weekend,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out our own team. It’s obviously a pleasant problem to have.”
In an effort to solve this problem, team members are competing with each other routinely in practice, creating a more competitive atmosphere. This, in turn, has made practices more significant, as players are trying to earn top spots before their first team match of the Spring season.
“Normally, at this point, everybody is sick of practicing and they just want to play somebody else,” Thornqvist said.
“But the way we compete in practice now, our players don’t have the luxury to look a week ahead. … For the first time in my tenure here, we have a little pressure every day at practice before we play. I think that’s going to be good for our team.”
Newcomer Ingrid Neel has contributed to the competitive nature of practices. According to Thornqvist, Neel has won every competitive drill she’s been put in.
However, other members of the team, such as seniors Kourtney Keegan, Spencer Liang and Belinda Woolcock, have also played a part in helping the team find a new approach to practice.
“The three of them can really reach the rest of them really well,” Thornqvist said.
Despite the leadership of the team’s three seniors, Thornqvist said nobody really needs a vocal leader in the locker room, as everyone knows what they need to do.
The Gators will be able to truly evaluate themselves following Sunday, as they host DePaul, FIU and USF at the ITA Kickoff Classic.
Their first match is Saturday at 2 p.m. against DePaul, which is 2-0 to start the season behind the leadership of No. 87 Yuliya Shupenia. The victor will face the winner of FIU and USF on Sunday with a consolation game at noon and the championship game at 2 p.m.
Until then, Florida will focus on its own lineup and getting everything set to start the Spring season.
“We’re trying to figure out the Gators, honestly. And I hope I’ll figure out the Gators by the time we tee it up on Saturday,” Thornqvist said. “We’re not going to worry about (DePaul). We’re going to try to get our team right and get our team to play at the highest possible level on Saturday, and hopefully, that’ll be good enough.”
Contact Spencer Thompson at sthompson@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @spencemthompson.
UF women’s tennis coach Roland Thornqvist smiles during introductions prior to Florida’s win over USF on Jan. 27, 2016, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
