During its national championship run in 2017, the Florida women’s tennis team lost to Vanderbilt in both the final match of the regular season and the final match of the SEC Tournament, but it did beat the Commodores during the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.
So far this year, the same thing has happened, as UF dropped the final match of the regular season to the Commodores 4-3 on April 14 and lost in the final round of the SEC Tournament to Vanderbilt 4-0 on Sunday.
However, based on its play so far this spring, Florida may find itself not nearly as capable of an NCAA title repeat as it thought it was earlier this season.
To begin, the Gators have had major problems when they’ve faced off against top-10 teams. In the regular season last year, UF was 6-3 against top-10 teams. That’s a much different tune than this year’s squad, which went 2-5 when it played top-10 teams.
After its match on Sunday, UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said that “(Vanderbilt) was better today and sometimes that just happens”.
“Sometimes” this year has been all the time, as the Gators are 0-3 against the Commodores over the past two and a half months, losing the two aforementioned matches as well as a third defeat on Feb. 10 at the 2018 National Team Indoor Championship.
While it isn’t a given, it’s somewhat likely UF will have to meet Vanderbilt again if it wants to repeat as NCAA champions, and it is very rare that one ever hears the idiom “fourth time’s a charm”.
If Florida is going to go back-to-back, it will certainly have its work cut out for it.
Between the top-10 teams they will certainly face and the Vanderbilt squad that has haunted them the entire season, the Gators will need to revive the championship glory they experienced last year, or they may quickly find themselves headed home empty handed.
The first round of the NCAA Tournament begins on May 11 and the field for the upcoming NCAA Tournament will be announced on May 1 at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com.
Follow River Wells on Twitter @riverhwells and contact him at rwells@alligator.org.
Coach Roland Thornqvist credited the Commodores after they beat Florida 4-0 in the finals match of the SEC Tournament on Sunday. “(Vanderbilt) was better today and sometimes that just happens," he said.
