After a long weekend of competition in Athens, Georgia, one member of the Gators women’s tennis team remains in the main draw of singles play at the ITA Southeast Regionals.
Anna Danilina defeated Georgia Tech’s Paige Hourigan on Sunday afternoon, clinching her spot in the tournament’s final match. The Russia native has five singles wins going into this morning’s championship match.
On Sunday, No. 15-ranked Danilina faced off against No. 105-ranked Marta Gonzalez of Georgia in the quarterfinals and took the win in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
Danilina moved on to the semifinals against the No. 49-ranked Hourigan of Georgia Tech and won the match, 6-2, 7-5.
“I’m really happy Anna will play for the title tomorrow,” assistant coach Dave Balogh said in a release. “I was impressed with her ability to make some adjustments and keep her cool at the end of the match when it got close. It’s going to be a great and challenging singles final.”
No. 93-ranked Brooke Austin saw her run in the singles tournament end after losing to No. 11-ranked Estela Perez-Somarriba of Miami, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
On Saturday, in the doubles portion of the tournament, the duo of Danilina and Peggy Porter lost to Mariana Gould and Katarina Jokic of Georgia in the semifinals, 8-7(4).
The pair of Austin and Katie Kubicz were also unsuccessful in advancing past the semifinal round after losing to Ulyana Grib and Maryna Veksler of Florida International, 8-4.
In singles play, Austin defeated Monica Matias of UCF in two sets, 6-0, 6-2. Danilina had a successful match against No. 103-ranked Kenya Jones of Georgia Tech as well, winning the contest, 6-3, 6-3.
On Friday, Kubicz and Porter both won their first singles matches of the main draw but then fell in the second round in three sets.
Kubicz lost to No. 23-ranked Johnnise Renaud of Georgia Tech, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, and Porter was defeated by Annette Goulak of Georgia, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
Kubicz and Porter finished their singles play in the tournament during the second round of consolation play on Saturday.
Kubicz lost to Jessica Cortes Chaves of South Florida, 2-6, 7-5, 1-0(8). Porter was defeated by Ulyana Shirokova of Miami in two sets, 6-2, 6-4.
Overall, the Gators have racked up 10 wins and five losses in singles play and four wins and two losses in doubles play for the tournament.
A win for Danilina will secure her spot in the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships in Indian Wells, California, in November. No other Gator has received an automatic bid for the fall championships.
Danilina will take the court this morning at 10 against Jokic of Georgia in the main draw of singles play for the title.
Note to readers: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the tournament was being played in Atlanta instead of Athens, Georgia.
You can follow Mari Faiello on Twitter @faiello_mari, and contact her at mfaiello@alligator.org.
UF's Anna Danilina returns a ball during Florida's 6-1 win over USF on Jan. 27, 2016, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
