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Facing its ninth top-25 opponent on the season, Florida’s women’s
tennis team (13-1, 2-0) dominated No. 16 Arkansas (11-3, 1-1) 7-0
in a match that was expected to be a difficult road test for the
team.
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UF’s new doubles teams were impressive on Sunday, as again coach
Roland Thornqvist's lineup tweaks resulted in a successful
outcome.
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Court 1, Allie Will and Alex Cercone defeated the Razorbacks’ No.
34 pairing of Claudine Paulson and Anouk Tigu, showing improved
chemistry in their second match together.
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The new doubles pairings seem to have given Florida a great
advantage on Court 3, as the Gators secured their second
consecutive blowout victory there. Sunday's match saw freshmen
Sofie Oyen and Olivia Janowicz teaming up for an 8-1 win.
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After switching teams midyear, Thornqvist said the key to early
success has been communication.
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"Any time you change teams like that, there are going to be some
growing pains," he said. "I thought we handled those very well on
the road this week. We're a young team, but we're growing up
fast."
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Thornqvist said that the new doubles teams have resorted mostly to
verbal communication, as they don't have the luxury of hand signals
like long-time teammates do.
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Meanwhile, the key in singles over the weekend was staying
disciplined.
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After weather delays pushed back Friday's singles matches at LSU
three times, the Gators had a bit of an easier time at
Arkansas.
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Four Gators won quick matches in straight sets, including No. 7
Allie Will, who has won two in a row to bounce back from her first
singles loss of the season Tuesday at Florida State.
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"We talked a lot about [discipline] after the Indoor
Championships," Thornqvist said. "I feel like we're playing with
more discipline and more competitively now."
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"Arkansas is a very good team, and we never gave them a chance
today."
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MEN’S
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The No. 11 UF men's tennis team overwhelmed Arkansas 7-0 on Sunday
at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
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The Gators (9-3, 2-0) started with three impressive doubles
victories and carried their early momentum into a shutout win
against the overmatched Razorbacks (3-7, 0-2).
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Alexandre Lacroix scored his 93rd career doubles victory, tying him
for the Florida record with Nathan Overholser.
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Later, Lacroix won his 99th career singles match, a straight-sets
victory on Court 1.
