Of all the activities Roland Thornqvist participates in with the women’s tennis team, laser tag is his favorite.
“We did it for the first time maybe a couple years ago, and they loved it,” the UF coach said.
Who won?
“(The coaches) kicked their butts,” Thornqvist said. “And then (the players) cheated and then they started winning.”
The players also saw their share of victories on the courts this past weekend.
The team took home four trophies in their season-opener at the Duke Bonk Invitational, two in the singles category and two in the doubles.
“I thought we played really well and we actually played better this weekend in competition than we have in practice, and it’s usually not like that, especially not early in the season,” Thornqvist said.
“I think maybe this is such a veteran team. All our players are around 20 or older and when we roll out the balls in real competition they have been there and done that before.”
Thornqvist added that Florida’s players — all of whom are upperclassmen — have made encouraging progress during their time at UF.
“I compared our performance two years ago when some of these players were freshmen,” Thornqvist said. “We just look different, you know. We look more mature and we can problem solve a lot easier and our body language is better.”
Junior Josie Kulhman was one of the Gators who put on an especially impressive performance this weekend. The 5-foot-6 Ponte Vedra native captured a singles title in dominating fashion. She won 6-3, 6-3 against Miami’s Maci Epstein.
“She’s just such a pro, you know, how she approaches this whole thing. It was the best I’ve seen Josie play, probably ever,” Thornqvist said. “Talk about a kid who’s feisty and competitive, she is not afraid and she will play every point like it’s the last one.”
Despite their excellent performance, the Gators still have things to improve on, including their fitness.
“Fitness clearly can be one of those little things that will separate one player from another,” Thornqvist said. “I think that’s one of the things we need to do a better job of this year.”
That aspect of the game will be especially critical as the team heads into its next tournaments at the Las Vegas 50k on Sept. 26 and the Riviera ITA All American Championships beginning Oct. 1.
“We are going to continue to hammer away with some fitness and strength,” Thornqvist said. “When you play in the All-American Championships, the deeper you get at that draw the stiffer the competition is, so obviously if you lack fitness then you have no chance.”
But with a team that has this kind of experience, Thornqvist said Florida will be ready — for the next tournament and for the rest of the season.
“They know that there are a few things in each of their games that they need to improve on, and what I’ve seen is that they are very willing to address those in practice,” Thornqvist said. “I assume and count on the fact that we are going to continue to improve upon that and be a better team come January and February than we are now.”
Contact Cassie Amundson at camundson@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @camundson_.
Senior Josie Kuhlman scored the deciding point in Florida's 4-2 win over Arkansas in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. The Gators will face either Ole Miss or Vanderbilt for the title on Sunday.
