The first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Columbia, Mo., kicked off on Wednesday, but UF will play its first match of the tournament later today.
No. 4 Florida (19-4, 11-2 SEC), which is also the tournament’s fourth seed, will play fifth-seeded Texas A&M today at 6 p.m.
“We’re preparing for a pretty grueling tournament coming up,” coach Roland Thornqvist said. “The SEC this year is just wickedly tough.”
This year’s tournament boasts five teams ranked in the top 15 nationally, including No. 3 Alabama, No. 6 Georgia, No. 8 Texas A&M and No. 11 Vanderbilt. Florida is 2-2 in matches against those four teams and 9-0 against the rest of the field.
Because they earned a top-four seed, the Gators received a two-round bye. UF is happy with the opportunity to enter today’s match with fresh legs against a team that has already begun competition.
“We [didn’t] want to play on Thursday. The more you play, the more wear and tear you’ll have on your bodies,” Thornqvist said. “But Friday is going to be tough.
“We’re playing a top-10 team probably, right off the bat.”
If Florida wins today, it will play the winner of the top-seeded Alabama and No. 8 seed South Carolina matchup.
But the Gators refuse to focus on anything besides today’s match.
“I’m going to take the old cliché — one at a time,” Thornqvist said. “We can’t really look past Friday in any way, shape or form.”
UF’s seniors, who will be trying to capture their fourth SEC tournament championship in as many years, know the ins and outs of the postseason as well as any players in the nation. All three will try to impart as much wisdom on Florida’s three freshmen as possible during their match play.
“The most important thing for [the freshmen] is just to be ready physically, because it’s going to be tough,” senior Sofie Oyen said. “It’s going to be three or four days in a row, hopefully, if we do well.”
Florida will be relying on its younger players, especially standout freshman Kourtney Keegan and sophomore Brianna Morgan, more so than in years past.
“Our freshmen are certainly playing better then they have all year, and Brianna is really starting to hit the ball well too,” Thornqvist said.
“Obviously, that helps the team a lot because then you really know what you’re going to get from your seniors. They’ve given it to us for four years, so I know exactly that I can count on them.”
The seniors have yet to lose a SEC Tournament match in their three years at Florida and have played consistently over the course of the season. As long as the seniors continue to perform to their standards, Thornqvist said their matches could come down to how well Keegan plays.
“Kourtney has had a tendency … to try to hit her way out of trouble. And that’s cost her,” Thornqvist said.
“As a player, with the talent and the power that she has, it’s really easy to try to go to that. But she’s settling down and [starting] to try to play her way out of trouble, and that’s going to be a big step for the Gators come postseason.”
Besides Keegan, Morgan must hold down the show court and the Gators will have to step up their doubles play if they have any hopes of advancing to the championship.
“If all those other little pieces in the puzzle [are] going in the right direction,” Thornqvist said, “then we’re going to be tough to beat.”
Follow Ian Cohen on Twitter @ibcohen5
Brianna Morgan swings at the ball during Florida’s 4-0 win against Harvard on Jan. 26 at the Ring Tennis Complex.
