When senior Josie Kuhlman clinched the match and sealed a road victory over No. 5 South Carolina, she didn’t jump, scream or shout.
She simply ran to the net and shook opponent Mia Horvit’s hand.
The Gators women’s tennis team defeated the Gamecocks 4-2 on Saturday at the Carolina Tennis Complex in Columbia, South Carolina, moving it into a tie for first place in the SEC standings
The match was originally slated to kick off at 1 p.m but was moved up to 8 a.m. in an attempt to beat a forecasted storm in Columbia. The teams played singles first to speed up the process, with doubles only being a possibility if singles play ended in a 3-3 tie.
South Carolina (18-4, 10-1 SEC) struck first when UF senior Peggy Porter fell to the Gamecocks’ Megan Davies 6-3, 6-2. Florida (15-6, 10-1 SEC) answered, however, when freshman Katie Kubicz posted a dominating third set to defeat South Carolina’s Rachel Rohrabacher 6-3, 2-6, 6-0.
Senior Anna Danilina put the Gators ahead when she defeated opponent Ingrid Gamarra Martins 3-6, 6-1, 6-1, but South Carolina responded quickly when Paige Cline bested sophomore Victoria Emma 7-6, 6-3. With the match tied at 2-2, the Gators’ chance of victory was all in the hands of freshman McCartney Kessler and senior Josie Kuhlman.
They’d have to wait.
The match entered an extended rain delay of around five hours due to the storm. Once the delay was finally over shortly after 4 p.m, UF picked up right where it left off, with Kessler getting the win in a 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 victory, bringing the Gators up 3-2. With Kuhlman’s clincher in a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 win, the Gators completed the 4-2 victory and tied South Carolina with a 10-1 record in SEC play. Florida is now 2-4 against top-10 teams this season.
UF will finish its regular season in Gainesville when it faces off against Kentucky on April 12 and Vanderbilt on April 14.
Follow River Wells on Twitter @riverhwells and contact him at rwells@alligator.org.
Senior Josie Kuhlman clinched the match for Florida in a 4-2 win over South Carolina on Saturday.
