Before the start of Sunday’s match, Florida’s three seniors received bouquets of flowers, personalized framed jerseys and a standing ovation from the crowd.
But in their final home match as Gators, all the trio really wanted was a win.
No. 11 Florida (18-4, 10-2 Southeastern Conference) defeated Kentucky (15-9, 5-7 SEC) 4-1 in the last match of the regular season. UF grabbed the doubles point and fought through singles play to earn its sixth straight win heading into the postseason.
“I’m very excited because Kentucky is a very good doubles team and I was really happy with our doubles play,” coach Roland Thornqvist said.
“It’s really coming along.”
Sofie Oyen and Belinda Woolcock captured the first doubles match, winning 8-5 on Court 2. Meanwhile, Alexandra Cercone and Brianna Morgan were down 5-1 and looked as if they couldn’t match Kentucky’s energy.
“[There was] one tactical change that we talked about the first 10 minutes, and they just didn’t do,” Thornqvist said of Cercone and Morgan. “But I left them alone, and I think they figured, ‘Hey, we better do this or else.’’’
After a quick conversation, the two bullied their way to an 8-5 victory to clinch the doubles point.
“I just kind of looked at Bri and I told her, ‘Let’s just be aggressive. Let’s be the first ones to get to the net. Let’s be the first ones to execute,’’’ Cercone said. “Once we kind of got in that mindset and we got momentum, we just started rolling.”
The momentum continued into the initial stages of singles play, where Woolcock began the scoring. The freshman captured a 6-3, 6-1 victory to put the Gators ahead 2-0. Morgan was the next to finish, winning 7-5, 6-1 in a high-paced match on Court 1.
“In [Brianna’s] second set, I started to see some brilliance again,” Thornqvist said. “She started to swing, [kept] balls in front of her, just a different pace on the ball. When she does that … there’s nobody in the country better right now. “
Cercone ceded the only point to the Wildcats, losing a tightly contested 7-6 (5), 6-1 match to bring UK within two. But the Gators ended Kentucky’s comeback hopes as Olivia Janowicz pulled out a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory that lasted almost two and a half hours.
“It was pretty special. I got to clinch so it was a great moment for me,” Janowicz said. “We had a great turnout so that made us feel really good. It was just a great day.”
Florida’s three seniors won’t have much time to soak in the moment, as they will travel to Columbia, Mo., on Wednesday to compete in the SEC Tournament, in which they are the No. 4 seed. Thornqvist hopes that his team’s strong doubles play of late is a sign of things to come as they head into the postseason.
“Last year we were able to be pretty successful in tournament play, even [though] we virtually [lost] every doubles point,” the three-time national championship coach said. “Now, I’m hoping we steal one here and there and certainly that’s something that’s going to be very important if you want to make it far.”
After seeing Kourtney Keegan win her second SEC Freshman of the Week award in a row, Thornqvist is hoping the rookie’s strong play will allow her to make an impact in the tournament.
“The highlight was Kourtney Keegan,” Thornqvist said. “Today, I really felt like she found a balance between power and strategy. It was a big step for her.”
Follow Ian Cohen on Twitter @ibcohen5
