As Kourtney Keegan slammed the ball onto the court, a small crowd of Gators fans roared in Athens, Georgia. The point won by Keegan and partner Brooke Austin gave them a 6-2 doubles win. It was one of the many things that came easy for Florida on Sunday, as it went on to defeat Oklahoma State 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
In match that had its start time pushed up, pushed back and delayed further before finally starting 30 minutes after its original start time, the Cowgirls showed the same effort they did against the Gators in February. However, Florida came prepared.
Keegan and Austin were first off the doubles court with a quick, easy 6-2 win over Aliona Bolsova and Katie Strsenakova. Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock followed not long after with a 6-4 victory over Viktoriya Lushkova and Katarina Adamovic.
Although the Gators captured the doubles point easily, singles play gave them more of a challenge.
Austin got off to a quick start and was the first off the court for Florida with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Strsenakova. Kuhlman followed just minutes later with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Adamovic to put the Gators up 3-0.
The Cowgirls then found a way to get on the board, as Bolsova beat Ingrid Neel 7-5, 6-3 in what was an uncharacteristically bad match for the freshman.
However, the veteran team recovered easily as Anna Danilina quickly put away her match, a 6-4, 6-4 win over Vladica Babic that clinched the victory for the Gators.
Florida will now turn its attention to Vanderbilt, a team it has yet to beat this season. Florida has lost five of the last six times the two teams have played.
In the last match of the regular season, Vandy surprised the Gators by taking the doubles point and going on to win 4-2.
Hoping to use that as motivation, the Gators entered the SEC tournament looking to avenge their loss to the Commodores. In a rematch between the two powerhouses, Vandy came out on top again, winning 4-3 in the Gators closest match of the season.
Florida was without their No. 2 singles player for the tournament match, as Kuhlman was sick with a stomach bug the night before.
Now, with more riding on the line than ever, the Gators will get another shot at taking down their conference foe. Florida will play the Commodores on Monday at 4 p.m. for a spot in the NCAA Championship.
Contact Spencer Thompson at sthompson@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter at @spencemthompson.
Kourtney Keegan prepares to hit a forehand during Florida's 4-2 win against Oklahoma State on Feb. 18, 2017, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
