The Florida men’s tennis team will open a stretch of indoor play tonight on the road against No. 13 Michigan. Following a disappointing loss to then No. 22 Florida State, the Gators hope to adopt a more aggressive brand of tennis.
Senior women’s tennis player Josie Kuhlman couldn’t help but feel confident.
Last Saturday, the No. 3 Florida women’s tennis team walked into its dual meet against Florida State with a 55-1 all-time record against the Seminoles, but was swiftly defeated 4-1.
The Florida women’s tennis team is a tale of two extremes. With three freshmen and four seniors on the roster, the squad is a perfect balance of veterans and rookies.
Alone with only the sound of music playing from his phone and the power of his imagination, freshman Oliver Crawford prepared to serve.
As the scoreboard changed from five to six, Florida State’s Ariana Rahmanparast celebrated. She’d just clinched a decisive singles victory over Florida’s Katie Kubicz, ending a seven-match losing streak for the Seminoles against the Gators.
Fighting to save a fourth match point, freshman Oliver Crawford rushed the net only to watch the evening’s final ball soar right past him. The No. 22 Florida State men’s tennis team erupted in cheers after redshirt senior Lucas Poullain’s winning shot sealed the Seminoles’ victory over the No. 8-ranked Gators on Saturday in Orlando at the USTA National Campus. The 4-3 upset marks Florida’s (3-1) second consecutive loss to FSU (10-1).
Tied at 5-5 in a decisive third set, Johannes Ingildsen had a chance to keep the Gators alive.
The year is 2009. The month is February.
Two hundred eighty-one days.
Andy Andrade wrapped his arm around his coach and smiled. He looked comfortable and confident. Volunteer assistant coach Scott Perelman had just joined Andrade on the sideline after the freshman concluded a speedy 6-0 first set win on the No. 5 singles court against South Alabama on Saturday. The two sat close on Andrade’s bench. They laughed.
Junior Alfredo Perez’s roar echoed inside the Perry Indoor Facility at the Ring Tennis Complex on Sunday. He had just turned the bad fortune of a serve’s awkward bounce off the net into an aggressive backhand winner. The shot kept Perez alive in the first set tiebreaker of a highly competitive match he’d eventually win, 7-6(6), 6-2, over South Florida senior Grayson Goldin.
Every competing senior on the Florida women’s tennis team won their singles match in a 4-0 rout of Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, leaving UF’s freshmen unable to finish their matches. During Sunday’s matchup with Louisiana-Monroe at the Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, it was their turn to close the dual-match out.
As senior Anna Danilina crouched down awaiting a serve, the home crowd at the Ring Tennis Complex began to clap in unison, a signal to Cal State Fullerton freshman Genevieve Zeidan that the match was about to come to an end.
The Florida men’s tennis team is looking to start dual-match play 2-0 for the eighth consecutive season this weekend.
The Gators women’s tennis team has faced some of the best programs in the nation this season. When it comes to its upcoming opponent in Cal State Fullerton, however, the squad is left entirely in the dark.
The Gators had already clinched the match. A crowd of over 350 fans had dwindled down to just a handful. In its home opener against UCF on Monday night, Florida was just about ready to return to the locker room victorious. But junior McClain Kessler was still battling for a third-set win on the No. 6 singles court.
The Florida men’s tennis team gave the home crowd at the Ring Tennis Complex exactly what it wanted in Monday’s home-opener against UCF.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment Belinda Woolcock never saw coming.
The Florida men’s tennis team kicks off its dual-match season today against UCF as the No. 9-ranked program in the country. The Gators have won all 16 previous matchups with the Knights, including a 7-0 sweep in 2013 when the teams last met.
Solutions by The State News
