After his team made it to the NCAA Finals in May, UF coach Roland Thornqvist is looking forward to the start of the fall season this weekend, as six players travel to Auburn to participate in the Southeastern Conference Coaches Classic.
Thornqvist sees the tournament as a great opportunity for players to get a look at the top competitors in their conference.
“The SEC is very good this year,” said Thornqvist. “Georgia has improved a lot. They may very well be who we need to beat to get to the top.”
The team returns several key players, including sophomores Lauren Embree and Allie Will, who Thornqvist called two of the best freshmen in the country last year. He also predicted both will be ranked in the top 10 this season.
Embree’s path to that ranking won’t be easy, as she continues to work her way back from offseason surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in her left wrist, but she has a positive attitude heading into the fall season.
“I just want to be 100 percent healthy,” said Embree. “I’ve finally got full range of motion, I’m getting there.”
Although Embree and Will displayed their defensive talents last year, Thornqvist said they have been spending a lot of time improving their offensive games.
One key will be hitting the ball with more pace, a factor in the team's championship-game loss to Stanford, Thornqvist said.
“We want them hitting hard, flat balls instead of heavy, spinning balls,” he explained.
Besides the talented sophomores, Thornqvist is excited about the freshman class, which put its skills to work during the team’s first official fall practice Wednesday.
“We got a good look at the three freshmen today,” Thornqvist said. “I expect some of them to come in and compete for playing time.”
The fall individual season provides players the chance to see what improvements they must make in order to develop an all-around game.
With an exciting freshmen class and the return of Embree and Will, the team could very well make a bid for being one of the best in the country.
