The most difficult stretch of the spring may be behind them, but the Gators still have their work cut out for them as they prepare for a plethora of Southeastern Conference matchups.
Florida will travel to face Tennessee on Friday while Georgia sits in waiting on Sunday, followed by another road trip to meet Auburn and Alabama the week after. UF will play its first home match in almost a month when it is welcomed back by Arkansas and LSU on March 28 and 30, respectively.
“Nobody has to motivate anybody to work this week, clearly,” said coach Roland Thornqvist, whose team is fresh off three straight SEC victories.
“It’ll be a tough stretch for us, but we had some tough matches in February where I think we built some road equity.”
If Thornqvist is looking for an estimate, his team’s stock looks to be on the rise.
The No. 2 Gators (11-2, 3-0 SEC) compiled three road wins as part of their 6-2 record in February. The month included wins against Baylor, Virginia, Southern California and Texas A&M, but two losses at the hands of Northwestern and Stanford.
Coming away with six wins against those eight opponents — five of which are currently ranked in the top 10 — is as good of an outcome as Florida could have hoped for.
Overall, it was an impressive month for the young team striving to match expectations that exceeds the years of many of their players.
“The road stuff, I thought we handled it well in February, and with three freshmen, they did well,” Thornqvist said.
“That’s part of why we went to the Indoors; that’s why we went to Stanford. I know we lost, but we learned. I’m hoping that those experiences will help us this weekend.”
The players’ improvements from match to match are evident, especially for Kourtney Keegan. The freshman has excelled in doubles and acquired her team-best 25th doubles match victory of the season on Saturday.
“It’s a remarkable statistic. Obviously that’s not by accident,” Thornqvist said. “I can play Kourtney with anyone on the team and she has that ability to make her partner better. That’s rare.”
Heading into their next match against Tennessee, Keegan’s teammates are hoping that holds true.
The telltale sign of a Florida victory is how well its played in doubles — the team is 9-0 in matches when they have won the doubles point.
“If we can win the doubles point, then I think it doesn’t really matter what team we play,” Thornqvist said.
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Kourtney Keegan returns a ball during Florida’s 4-0 win against Harvard on Jan. 26 at the Ring Tennis Complex.
