Sometimes the quietest leader’s actions resonate loudest.
Lone senior Brianna Morgan has been described as the silent leader on the women’s tennis team.
Morgan will quietly lead her team to Athens, Georgia, today for the USTA/ITA Regionals.
After losing in the quarterfinals of the Riviera/ITA All-American Tournament, the Gators are looking to get back to winning in this weekend’s tournament.
Coach Roland Thornqvist said the team was not happy with the way it played, but the Gators learned many lessons from their loss.
"I don’t think we saw the All-American Championships as a huge success but at the same time we showed our depth," Thornqvist said.
The Gators faced difficult opponents in the tournament, many of whom will be competing in the USTA/ITA Regionals this weekend.
There were some high points in UF’s play, especially junior Belinda Woolcock’s upset of Miami’s No. 6- ranked Stephanie Wagner, 6-1, 6-3.
Overall, Thornqvist said his team is playing well and has improved on a lot of the things that he thought needed work — most notably the team’s doubles play.
"We have four teams who can all win this tournament this week," Thornqvist said.
"And that’s never happened in my 15 years here at Florida."
The 2014-2015 season saw the Gators go 44-19 overall in doubles, including a 19-9 record in the Southeastern Conference.
The then-freshman Brooke Austin and then-sophomore Kourtney Keegan were ranked No. 1 for the Gators last season.
The pair are currently ranked No. 1 in the country and will open up as the top-ranked seed this weekend.
Keegan and Austin have a 25-4 career record when the pair compete as a doubles team.
The other doubles team that will be competing is the duo of Morgan and sophomore Anna Danilina.
But unlike Keegan and Austin, their season has gotten off to a rough start.
The pair lost to USC’s Gabby Smith and Jessica Failla in the second round of play at the Riviera/ITA All-American Tournament.
Danilina, a Moscow, Russia, native, who came to Florida in the offseason, is still adjusting to the level of play in college. Thornqvist said that the best thing Danilina can do to improve her play is to simply play more matches.
"I think she’s getting better every week," Thornqvist said, "Still a little gap between her practice form and her match form,"
Thornqvist said that her senior leader has been instrumental in helping Danilina with her doubles game.
"Bri is the quiet leader," Thornqvist said.
"She has that unique ability to really reach everyone on the team. She has that kind of personality where everybody likes her and respects her."
Follow Madison Belfour on Twitter @madisonbel4
Brianna Morgan awaits a serve during Florida's 4-0 win against Maryland on Jan. 25 at the Ring Tennis Complex. Morgan defeated Georgia Tech's Kendal Woodard, 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 3 position on Saturday to help the Gators advance to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16.
