When freshman Katie Kubicz’s final shot went just a little too wide, the Florida Gators NCAA Tournament run sailed away with it.
The Florida State Seminoles defeated UF for the second time this season on its home court, though this 4-3 victory will end the Gators’ season as they exit the NCAA Tournament in the second round.
It was the FSU who struck first in doubles, picking up their first victory on Court 3 when the duo of senior Peggy Porter and Kubicz fell to Gabriella Castaneda and Petra Hule in a 6-2 loss.
Florida wouldn’t give up so easily, however. Senior Anna Danilina and freshman Victoria Emma bested their opponents, Carla Touly and Ariana Rahmanparast, on Court 1 with a 6-3 victory. Florida State silenced UF’s comeback attempt with victory from Julia Mikulski and Andrea Garcia on Court 2 over senior Josie Kuhlman and freshman McCartney Kessler, 6-4, and picked up the critical doubles point.
Initially, the Gators bounced back in singles play. Danilina beat Touly 6-2, 6-4, bringing the score 1-1. Florida improved took the lead when Porter defeated Rahmanparast 6-3, 6-3, and its lead stretched even further when Kuhlman bested the Seminoles’ Hule 6-4, 6-4.
With a 3-1 lead and victory seemingly in sight, the match began to unravel for UF.
Victoria Emma dropped her match 6-4, 6-4 to Castaneda, bringing the score to 3-2. Down 5-4 in the second set, Kessler called for a medical timeout due to a cramping in her hamstring, but returned to the game shortly afterwards. When her match made it to the third set, the cramping returned and Kessler became overwhelmed with her injury, forfeiting the match and bringing the score to 3-all.
After the match, coach Roland Thornqvist explained that the team’s training regimen may have contributed to Kessler’s injury.
“In training I think I pushed them a little too far,” Thornqvist said in a release. “As good a job as we've done all year, I think I made a big mistake a couple weeks ago leading up to this tournament.”
It was all up to Kubicz on Court 6, and when her last shot bounced out of play, she met defeat at the hands of the Garcia 6-3, 6-7, 6-4.
With the loss to FSU, the Gators have been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, ending their team season. As the team’s seniors walked away from their final team match, coach Thornqvist reflected on their time at the University of Florida.
“These three seniors, what they've done here – they leave a legacy that goes way past and farther than just winning trophies,” Thornqvist said. “More importantly, they've shown our freshmen how we do it. They've shown the ‘Florida Way’ and for that, I'm very grateful.”
You can follow River Wells on Twitter @riverhwells or contact him at rwells@alligator.org.
Senior Anna Danilina picked up a victory in singles play on Saturday, but it wasn't enough, as the Gators fell to Florida State 4-3.
