Coach Roland Thornqvist and the Florida women’s tennis team were in a difficult position after dropping three of their last four matches, with two top 25 road matches on the horizon.
The Gators now enter the weekend on the cuffs of their largest win streak of the season after defeating then-No. 23 LSU and then-No. 12 Texas A&M.
"When we left the last road trip, we definitely felt like we left something on the table,” Thornqvist said in a release after his team defeated the Aggies last week. “We talk about it all the time, but the worker bee mentality is big for us… Our attitude, our work ethic and our effort was strong all week long and we reaped the benefits of that today.”
No. 23 Florida looks to maintain this attitude and effort as it enters the final home stretch of its dual-match campaign when it hosts Alabama on Friday and Auburn on Sunday.
Better in doubles play
Florida (9-8, 6-4 SEC) have won the doubles point in three of its last four matches. This is a pivotal turnaround after the Gators struggled to claim the opening point early in the season, dropping it in four of its five first matches.
Thornqvist has mixed his pairings throughout the season but has found most success with his veteran duo of McCartney Kessler and Victoria Emma. The two sophomores have six conference wins this season, including one over the reigning NCAA doubles champions in LSU’s Eden Richardson and Jessica Golovin last week.
Kessler and Emma will most likely face another tough test on Friday with Crimson Tide juniors Kimberley Gintrand and Ann Selim, who lead the way with a 13-5 record this season.
Zein wins SEC Freshman of the Week
Zein collected her first ever SEC honors after two pivotal victories this past weekend, including a doubles win against No. 67 Riley McQuaid and Lucia Quiterio. The freshman out of Sugarland, Texas, clinched the match against LSU with her decisive victory over LSU’s Paris Corley, and then defeated Aggies' Renee McBryde two days later to put Florida in a commanding 3-2 lead. Zein enters the weekend on a three-match winning streak and looks to continue this high level of play into the latter half of the season.
“Our goal is to strive to get better over time and see signs of improvement,” Thornqvist said. “We have been playing physical and durable tennis and we were a good step or two better than the last time we played. That makes me proud as a coach."
Follow Victor Prieto on Twitter @victorprieto_11 and contact him at vprieto@alligator.org.
Sophomore McCartney Kessler and her doubles partner, Victoria Emma, have six conference wins this season, including one over the reigning NCAA doubles champions in LSU’s Eden Richardson and Jessica Golovin last week.
