The No. 3 Florida women’s tennis team reigns supreme in the state of Florida.
With its dominating performance over South Florida last Wednesday, the Gators haven’t dropped a season opening dual match in 31 years.
Along with a 24 dual-match win streak against in-state rivals, the Gators also boast a 202-33 all-time record against Florida teams.
That dominance reflects in the Gators’ history with their next opponent, as well.
Today, the Gators (1-0) take on Florida State (5-1) at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center in Tallahassee at 4 p.m.
UF is 55-1 all time against FSU, with its lone loss coming during the 2009 season.
Last season, UF went toe-to-toe in their matchup with Florida State. After taking the doubles point, the Gators traded points with FSU.
A pair of wins by then-freshmen Brooke Austin and Peggy Porter gave the Gators a 3-3 tie going into then-sophomore Kourtney Keegan’s match.
The Roswell, Georgia, native went on to clinch the victory for the Gators in three-sets 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
"It’s always fun to go to Tallahassee. They get up for our match," Thornqvist said after Wednesday night’s USF game.
"That Florida-Florida State thing is tough to beat. It’s pretty interesting. I think they have a pretty good team."
FSU won’t be an easy win for the Gators, despite what the record shows.
The Seminoles lost two seniors from last season in Kerrie Cartwright and Mia Vriens, but they also gained two talented freshmen in Julia Mikulski and Ariana Rahmanparast. The Seminoles boast a 5-1 record, with wins over ITA-ranked teams Old Dominion, Tulane and Portland.
The Gators will look to their doubles pairings to get them the early lead over FSU. Against the Bulls, the Gators swept in doubles play, with the No. 50 tandem of senior Brianna Morgan and sophomore Anna Danilina not allowing USF to take a game in their match.
"I think we do need to continue to improve on some things. That’s part of it, we’re just starting," Thornqvist said. "We’re hoping the pieces you see now is different the piece we’re trying to put together by May."
"It doesn’t really matter who we play, we’re gonna continue to focus on the Gators."
Contact Jake Dreilinger at jdreilinger@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DreilingerJake.
UF’s Brianna Morgan serves during Florida’s win over USF on Jan. 27, 2016, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
