Only when senior Peggy Porter swung her racket a final time in her clinching victory did the Gators let up their relentless assault against their first opponent at the NCAA Tournament.
The No. 9 Gators defeated the Youngstown State Penguins in a 4-0 sweep at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex on Friday, advancing to the next round of the tournament. The victory kickstarts UF’s hopes of repeating its championship bid from last year.
“I thought we played pretty well for having a three-week-long layoff,” Coach Roland Thornqvist said in a release. “We got off to a really fast start on (Courts) 2 and 3 and were able to carry that momentum all the way through.”
Florida wasted no time in establishing its dominance during doubles play, as it clinched the doubles point in a mere 24 minutes. The pair of senior Josie Kuhlman and freshman McCartney Kessler struck first, winning on Court 2 by a score of 6-2 over Youngstown’s duo of Noelly Longi Nsimba and Imaan Hassim.
Seconds later, the tandem of Porter and freshman Katie Kubicz finished up doubles against Cassandra Moraleja and Anastasiia Khokhlova, delivering the clincher in a 6-1 victory.
The Gators continued their rampage in singles play, going up 2-0 on the Penguins when Kessler defeated her Kohkhlova by a score of 6-1, 6-1.
Kubicz followed shortly after, beating Moraleja in a 6-0, 6-2 victory.
With UF up 3-0, it was Peggy Porter who clinched the match, defeating Tamara Teufl 6-1, 6-1, advancing the Gators to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“The girl I played was pretty good,” Porter said in a release. “It was nice to play someone against whom I could stay in my game.”
UF will stay at home on Saturday when it faces off against its in-state rival in No. 17 FSU in the second round of the tournament. The Seminoles defeated Florida 4-1 on its home court on Feb. 3. Despite the loss earlier in the season, Coach Roland Thornqvist isn’t worried in the slightest.
“They really beat us badly in February,” Thornqvist said. “I want to maintain what I've said leading up to this tournament, that we are a completely different team than we were in February.”
You can follow River Wells on Twitter @riverhwells or contact him at rwells@alligator.org.
Senior Peggy Porter clinched the match for UF in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Gators will move on to face rival Florida State.
