Coach Roland Thornqvist’s women’s tennis team brought in three freshmen during the offseason.
Thornqvist was clear when he spoke about their roles on Monday.
“We’re going to take all three of them this weekend to Duke to see what we can do up there,” he said.
The newcomers — Kourtney Keegan of Roswell, Ga., and Australians Stefani Stojic and Belinda Woolcock — will begin their college careers on Friday at the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C.
Woolcock is the No. 7 freshman in the nation, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
The three make up more than one-third of the Gators’ roster.
“That [created] a little bit of uncertainty over the summer,” Thornqvist said.
But during Saturday and Sunday’s first preseason practices of the year, Thornqvist’s worries were quieted.
“All three freshman are doing everything we ask,” Thornqvist said. “We’ve conditioned OK. We’re getting used to the heat, which is not easy.”
By bringing the freshman to Durham for the three-day singles and doubles invitational, Thornqvist hopes to see his inexperienced group continue to improve.
“It’s hard for us to have any goals as far as performance is concerned,” he said. “I know we can hit the ball and I know we have the talent, but I’m not so sure we can put it all together just yet.”
Thornqvist will be looking to his three returning seniors to help make that happen.
“We lost obviously a great leader from last year’s team in Lauren Embree,” he said,
“but the three seniors we have in this year’s team have been part of probably the best three-year run in this program’s history.
“So we’re going to rely obviously on Olivia (Janowicz), Alex (Cercone) and Sofie (Oyen) for their leadership.”
Florida’s three new faces won’t be the only change on display at Duke. Thornqvist noted the move towards more offensive strength compared to past squad’s defensive patience.
“We’re a hitting team this year,” he said.
“We actually prefer to hit the ball and we may be the kind of team this year who will push the action on our opponents.”
Follow Erica A. Hernandez on Twitter @EricaAlyssa.
Florida coach Roland Thornqvist (right) congratulates junior Sofie Oyen (left) and former Gator Allie Will (back) during a match against Duke on March 14, 2012.
