The Hall of Fame/ITA Grass Court Invitational and Duke Bonk Invite had some successful finishes for the Florida women’s tennis team.
Day 1 of competition at the Grass Court Invitational in Newport, Rhode Island, ended with seniors Anna Danilina and Josie Kuhlman advancing to the second round of individual play. Danilina defeated LSU’s Jessica Golovin 6-0, 6-4, while Kuhlman beat LSU’s Ryann Foster 1-6, 6-3, 1-0.
The pair also posted a victory together in doubles against Golovin and Foster, winning by a score of 8-1.
Freshman Katie Kubicz, on the other hand, lost to LSU’s Eden Richardson 6-4, 6-1 in singles play.
“I really liked how they all competed, especially at the end of close sets and in several tiebreakers we played,” associate coach Dave Balogh said of Danilina, Kuhlman and Kubicz.
For the Gators at the Duke Bonk Invite in Cary, North Carolina, senior Brooke Austin defeated NC State’s Claudia Wiktorin 6-3, 6-2, and freshman Victoria Emma beat Illinois’ Daniela Pedraza Novak 6-3, 7-6, while senior Peggy Porter fell to NC State’s Adriana Reami 6-2, 6-1.
Austin and Porter also lost to Illinois’ Pedraza Novak and Asuka Kawai, 8-5, in the first rotation of doubles competition, but came back in the second rotation to defeat Duke’s Meible Chi and Kelly Chen, 8-1.
On Day 2 at the Grass Court Invitational, Danilina secured a win against Princeton’s Katrine Steffensen 6-1, 6-2, securing her spot in the competition’s championship match, while Kuhlman fell to North Carolina’s Jessie Aney 6-3, 3-6, 1-0.
Danilina and Kuhlman also advanced past the Tar Heel’s duo of Aney and Alexa Graham to move through the doubles semifinals.
“Anna was terrific all weekend,” Balogh said. “She has so much variety and her ability to slice and attack the net was incredible and very effective.”
At the Duke Bonk Invite, Austin took away a win from Georgia Tech’s Ida Jarlskog. Porter and Emma lost both of their singles matches to Charlotte’s Tai Martin and Duke’s Kelly Chen, respectively.
Emma and Porter were also defeated in the third rotation of doubles against Northwestern’s Erin Larner and Maddie Lipp, 8-2. Austin was paired with Georgia Tech’s Nadia Gizdova and was able to secure a win against North Carolina’s Maggie Kane and Cassandra Vasquez, 8-6.
On Sunday, the final day of competition at the Grass Invitational, Danilina won against Aney to clinch the singles championship.
“It was an amazing experience for me,” Danilina said. “Playing on a grass court was challenging at first, but I had lots of fun playing singles and doubles with Josie.”
Kuhlman also had a win against Princeton’s Steffensen – securing a third-place finish – and Kubicz stole a victory against LSU’s Kennan Johnson in the singles drawback.
The same stakes were on the line at the Duke Bonk Invite, but the Gators weren’t able to pull off strong finishes in the last day of the tournament.
Austin lost to Duke’s Kaitlyn McCarthy in the singles championship round 6-3, 4-6, 7-6, securing a second-place finish in the event. Porter also lost to Furman’s Katty Weymouth and Emma lost to Northwestern’s Lipp, in consolation matches.
The Gators next competition will be in Pacific Palisades, California, for the Riviera ITA All-American Championships tournament at the end of September.
“Overall, a great start to the Fall,” Balogh said.
You can follow Mari Faiello on Twitter @faiello_mari, and contact her at mfaiello@alligator.org.
Anna Danilina returns a backhand during Florida's 4-2 win against Oklahoma State on Feb. 18, 2017, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
