After a nearly impeccable weekend, the No. 2 Florida women’s tennis team returned to its home court on Wednesday to face No. 53 South Florida.
Florida held a firm lead in all six of its first sets in singles play against the Bulls to lock-in a 7-0 win for the Gators.
Florida (3-0) wasted no time clinching the doubles point.
Brianna Morgan and Belinda Woolcock soundly defeated opponents Alicia Robinson and Juliana Cardoso 6-1 on Court 3.
With No. 7 doubles duo Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan clinching the doubles point with a 6-1 victory on Court 1 two minutes later.
Earlier this week, coach Roland Thornqvist was not pleased with the No. 3 courts performance against No. 68 Maryland, but after Morgan and Woolcock’s performance against the Bulls (1-3), the coach had a change in tone.
"I was, in particular, interested in our No. 3 doubles and how we started the match and they were pretty much flawless the first 10 minutes. They pretty much set the tone," Thornqvist said. "Belinda certainly added some pace. Belinda played very well and that may have helped (Brianna) in a positive way because she was more explosive, she made less errors as well."
After securing a 1-0 lead in singles play, the Gators were determined to show USF who was the better team in the state.
No. 9 freshman Josie Kuhlman was the first to secure a point for the Gators in singles play as she defeated against USF’s Vera Bessonova (6-2, 6-0).
"It’s funny because I didn’t really know where I was and I wasn’t watching the scoreboards that much," Kuhlman said. "I just knew (Belinda) and (Spencer) were close to finishing and I was like ‘Oh, who’s going to finish first.’ I was happy I got to put a point up there because the other day I wasn’t able to finish."
Woolcock then swept USF’s Jessica Cortes-Chaves, 6-1, 6-1, before sophomore Spencer Liang clinched the victory on the No. 6 court with a 6-2, 6-1 victory.
Kuhlman was determined to earn a win against the Bulls after struggling in her first singles match of the season against Maryland.
"Today was definitely like playing how I’m used to playing, and it was great to be out there and you know, playing for the Gators," Kuhlman said. "Going into singles I was really happy with the way I played. I thought I was aggressive and back to playing the way I like to play."
For Florida, the battle has just started this season.
With plenty of competition lying ahead in the schedule, it’s fair to say the team will face adversity.
"What we’re going to do is we’re actually going to play an Orange and Blue match Friday," Thornqvist said. "We’ve split the team up four and four, and we’re going to go at it internally on Friday. I figured that’s the best way to get another match because when they play they get to play some of the best players in the country even though they’re on same team.
"I think we need one more (match) where we can film it and view it and after that we will be ready."
Follow Caylee Underwood on Twitter @CayUnderwood
Spencer Liang dives for a one-handed backhand during Florida's win against Elon.
