As Belinda Woolcock stared down her opponent, she slowly raised her arm to serve. With the deciding point against No. 5 Stanford on the line, a packed crowd at the Ring Tennis Complex held its breath.
Ace.
Both the crowd and the Gators women’s tennis team roared with excitement as Woolcock put No. 1 Florida (9-0) up 4-1 to beat the Cardinal (4-1) on Sunday. It marked UF’s ninth straight win and extended its home winning streak to 163 consecutive wins.
The Gators started hot, dominating doubles play. The pair of Josie Kuhlman and Woolcock were off the court first as they overpowered Stanford’s Emma Higuchi and Caroline Lampl. Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan were not far behind as they routed Emily Arbuthnott and Taylor Davidson 6-3.
However, Florida had to battle in singles play. Despite Ingrid Neel’s commanding 6-1, 6-3 victory over Caroline Doyle that put them ahead 2-0, the Gators were forced to go deep in sets to pull out the win.
Spencer Liang, who filled in for Keegan at the six position, was next off the court after getting trounced 6-2, 6-1 by Higuchi. Although Stanford cut the lead to 2-1, it was the Cardinal's only score of the day.
After losing 6-2 in her first set against Lampl, Austin fought back and scored next for the Gators, winning 2-6, 6-1, 7-5. This gave Florida a 3-1 lead.
Then, after an admittedly frustrating first set, Woolcock found her rhythm to come back and dominate Davidson 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, giving the Gators the win.
“Physically, we were dominant today,” coach Roland Thornqvist said. “Look at the scoreboard, at the last 30 minutes. I just felt like we were at a different level physically. I told them in the locker room. It’s a good feeling when you know you’re the strongest team.”
Despite their superior performance Sunday, the weekend didn’t start off as well for the Gators. After losing the doubles point for the second time this season, Florida fought back in a taxing match against No. 6 Oklahoma State to win 4-2.
Still feeling a lingering high from the National Indoor Championships combined with a demanding travel schedule, Austin said the tired Gators weren’t mentally in the game at the beginning of Saturday’s match.
“I think yesterday, we were just mentally done,” she said. “But once we lost the doubles point, we got it together and pulled it out.”
The Gators found their fight in singles, after a dominant performance from Woolcock tied the match at one-all. Woolcock swept No. 10 Viktoriya Lushkova 6-0, 3-0. Neel was next off the singles court after defeating OSU’s Katarina Adamovic 6-3, 6-2. This put the Gators up 2-1.
After Danilina lost to Aliona Bolsova in a tough 4-6, 6-7, decision, Austin put the Gators back up with a 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 victory over Lena Ruppert.
The decision then hung in the hands of Kuhlman, who, after losing her first set 2-6, fought back in a trying match against Vladica Babic to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and give the Gators the win.
“I think we did a great job of recovering yesterday and coming back as strong as we’ve ever been today,” Woolcock said.
Florida will now have time to rest and recover before opening SEC play. The Gators will play next at LSU March 3.
Contact Spencer Thompson at sthompson@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @spencemthompson.
UF's Ingrid Neel hits a backhand during Florida's 4-2 win against Oklahoma State on Feb. 18, 2017, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
