When the season began, UF women’s tennis coach Roland Thornqvist said he felt like it had been a long time since 2003, the year Florida won its last national title.
He might not be referencing 2003 much longer. The No. 3 Gators (29-2) have the opportunity to bring a fifth NCAA Team Championship back to Gainesville when they face No. 8 Stanford (25-1) today at 2 p.m. on ESPNU.
The 2003 championship was won in a 4-3 upset against the Cardinal in Gainesville, where the home crowd was a factor. This time, the Gators will not be on their home court when they face Stanford, but the Dan Magill Tennis Complex is hardly foreign to this team.
Monday’s 4-0 win against No. 2 North Carolina marked UF’s seventh win this season in Athens, Ga.
Florida’s top three singles players all enter the match on a high note.
Southeastern Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player Marrit Boonstra continued her strong showing in Athens with a 6-2, 6-2 win over North Carolina’s Sophie Grabinski that extended her singles win streak to 17 matches.
Her doubles partner, No. 8 Allie Will, put UF in position to clinch with a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 54 Katrina Tsang at the No. 2 spot.
Will enters today’s match undefeated in dual-match singles this season with 26 wins.
Fellow freshman sensation No. 9 Lauren Embree sent the Gators to the championship match with a 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 defeat of Sanaz Marand.
Since a tough three-match losing stretch at the ITA Team Indoor Tournament in February, Embree has strung together a 16-match winning streak heading into the championship match. Embree’s strong showing at the No. 1 position this year for Florida helped make her the first freshman to be named the SEC Player of the Year. She was also named the ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year.
Saturday against Miami, Embree achieved her most impressive win of the season when she upset No. 7 Laura Vallverdu.
However, she may face her toughest challenge today when she takes on No. 4 Hillary Barte.
In Stanford, the Gators face a traditional power (15 national titles), but a relative unknown in regards to this year.
Many fans and experts consider this to be a down year for the Pacific-10 Conference in women’s tennis and Stanford did not take part in the ITA Team Indoor Tournament in Madison, Wis.
UF faced one Pac-10 opponent at the indoor tournament in February, UCLA, and lost 4-1. More recently, the Gators defeated Washington 4-0 on May 14 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The No. 6 Gators men’s tennis team (21-5) will not be taking part in the men’s portion of today’s championships. No. 12 Georgia, the tournament host, upset UF 4-2 in the round of 16 Friday. Senior Antoine Benneteau and junior Alexandre Lacroix will take part in the NCAA Individual Championships beginning Wednesday in Athens.
