The last time Florida took on Clemson, the match came down to the wire.
Trailing most of the game and finding themselves down 3-2, the Gators were relying on then-freshman Josie Kuhlman and then-sophomore Belinda Woolcock, who were both trailing in the third set.
Proving they still had some fight left in them, both Gators powered through to win both sets, giving the Gators the 4-3 victory.
This time around, though, it was a different match.
The No. 3 Gators (5-0) defeated the No. 20 Tigers (2-2) 7-0 on Sunday in a match where the Gators didn’t drop a set.
"I like the energy from all eight. They all get along really well, they work hard together, they seem to have an awful lot of fun together," UF coach Roland Thornqvist said. "That makes it easier to bring out the genius. It’s easier to play great tennis on the court. Right now I think we’re about as good as we can be."
The Gators took the doubles point in close fashion.
The No. 14 team of Kuhlman and Woolcock struck first, quickly defeating Clemson’s Ally Miller-Krasilnikov and Tristen Dewar 6-2.
The No. 16 duo of sophomore Brooke Austin and junior Kourtney Keegan found themselves down 5-3 against Fernanda Navarro and Ayen Broomfield.
But the UF pair went on to win the next four games, winning the match 7-5 and clinching the doubles point.
"I thought (Austin and Keegan) did a great job keeping their composure coming from behind. They really cleaned up their game being down 5-3 to win four straight games," Thornqvist said.
"And I told our three teams, ‘Look, this is why we play three doubles.’ And we have three really good doubles pairings every time we go out there. We don’t rely on just one team."
No. 73 sophomore Anna Danilina and No. 124 senior Brianna Morgan, eager to make up for squandering a 5-2 lead in doubles, swiftly defeated Daniela Ruiz and Miller-Krasilnikov, respectively, in singles.
Both Danilina and Morgan dropped only one game, with Danilina winning 6-1, 6-0 and Morgan winning 6-0, 6-1.
Up 3-0 and only needing one more game to clinch, the Gators looked to No. 19 Austin to get the job done against No. 11 Joana Eidukonyte.
And she did, earning her second win of the season 6-0, 6-2.
"You go into every match and you don’t want to have your expectations too high. We knew this match would be tougher, but we wanted to keep the same energy level," Woolcock said. "Keep doing what we were doing."
No. 116 Kuhlman then defeated Tristen Dewar 6-3, 6-1 to give the Gators a 5-0 lead.
No. 35 Keegan’s match against No. 75 Navarro ended close.
After winning the first set 6-2, Keegan found herself behind 5-2. She would go on to win the next four games before Navarro tied the set at six a piece. But it was Keegan who emerged victorious, winning 7-6.
In the last match, No. 4 Woolcock defeated Broomfield 6-4, 6-4 to complete the sweep.
"I think it’s all about just trusting in your legs. We put in the work, and we know that even if our shots aren’t going right, we can trust our legs to get us out of a match," Keegan said.
"And that’s what I did. I came back from down 5-2, and just got momentum and got out of that match."
The Gators have a long break before they take the court again, this time in a two-game weekend series on Feb. 26-28 against No. 1 California and No. 14 Stanford at Stanford.
California jumped to the top spot from No. 6 after it captured the ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championships, defeating teams like then-No. 5 North Carolina, then-No. 16 Ohio State and then No. 7 Virginia.
Contact Jake Dreilinger at jdreilinger@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DreilingerJake.
UF's Belinda Woolcock returns the ball with a forehand during Florida's 6-1 win over USF on Jan. 21, 2016, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
