Last Saturday, senior Peggy Porter could only watch helplessly as she lost the decisive singles match in Florida’s 4-3 defeat against Vanderbilt to end the regular season.
The Florida Gators women’s tennis team is feeling major déjà vu.
As fans filed out of the Ring Tennis Complex on Friday for the last time this season, senior Chase Perez-Blanco, along with fellow seniors Jordan Belga and Josh Wardell, stayed on the court.
Florida senior Peggy Porter saw a 3-1 lead slip away in her second set against opponent Summer Dvorak on Saturday at the Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville. When the fate of the SEC regular season championship rested in her hands and she was up 4-1 in the third set, she was determined not to let it happen again.
Senior Chase Perez-Blanco held back tears after the Gators’ final regular season match as he reflected on his career at the University of Florida.
When the ball popped into the air, senior Anna Danilina began a backwards gallop. She raised her racket as high as her arm would allow and spiked the ball across the center of the court. Her opponent, Kentucky’s Emily Fanning, could only watch helplessly.
With their victory against South Carolina last Saturday, the SEC race has found itself in a three-way tie.
The No. 9 Florida men’s tennis team swept the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge on Sunday 7-0 to give coach Bryan Shelton his 100th win at UF.
When senior Josie Kuhlman clinched the match and sealed a road victory over No. 5 South Carolina, she didn’t jump, scream or shout.
The No. 9 Florida men’s tennis team lost to No. 5 Texas A&M 6-1 in College Station on Friday.
With three matches left in the regular season, the Florida women’s tennis team (14-6, 9-1 SEC) is second in the SEC standings. Right below it is Vanderbilt (16-3, 8-1 SEC) and Georgia (12-5, 7-3 SEC), two teams that have defeated Florida this year.
The Florida men’s tennis team plays two matches on the road this weekend.
If the Florida women’s tennis team was expecting an ordinary contest walking into its match against Texas at the USTA Campus on Easter Sunday, it was sorely mistaken.
McClain Kessler had no energy left to give as he walked off Court 6 of the Carolina Tennis Center.
Senior Anna Danilina crouched on the court as the crowd behind her at the Ring Tennis Complex clapped in unison. Her opponent, Missouri’s Selena Nash, was one point away from losing to Danilia in a singles match and it was her turn to serve.
The No. 10 Florida men’s tennis team handed No. 1 Wake Forest its first home loss of the season Friday with a 4-3 win in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to push the team’s win streak to five in a row.
The Florida men’s tennis team will begin a four-match road trip on Friday.
Freshman Katie Kubicz was on autopilot.
So far this season, the Arkansas women’s tennis team is 5-11 overall, only has one win in SEC play and is on a current six-match losing streak.
Oliver Crawford walked out of coach Bryan Shelton’s office after the Florida men’s tennis team’s victory over Arkansas on Sunday.
Solutions by The State News
