Not much changed between the first two matches for the UF women's tennis team, except, of course, for the opponent.
The No. 4 Gators scored another 7-0 shutout Thursday night, this time against in-state foe Central Florida.
The Gators faced a slight challenge on the doubles courts but slammed the door on the Knights in singles play.
Sophomores Megan Alexander and Marrit Boonstra responded to being down 3-2 and a break in their doubles match by winning six consecutive games to close out the set. The duo clinched the doubles point for the Gators.
Freshman Julia Cohen and senior Lolita Frangulyan routed their opponent 8-0 in just 33 minutes.
Senior Whitney Benik and sophomore Csilla Borsanyi looked to be rolling in their doubles match at 6-2, but UCF reeled off three straight games to cut the lead to 6-5. The Gators' pair responded by winning the next two games to complete doubles play.
Borsanyi admitted to looking ahead during her doubles match instead of concentrating on the task at hand.
"I was focusing more on my singles match, but I think we got it done right in the end," she said.
Borsanyi's result in singles affirmed her statement. She knocked out her opponent 6-0, 6-0 in just 48 minutes and was the first Gator to finish.
"In my singles, I felt so much better," she said. "My game was together. I tried to play offense. I tried to go up to net. I just tried to play my game."
UF coach Roland Thornqvist said he didn't think the team played as well as it could have in doubles, but he was proud of the way his players responded when they were pushed to be more competitive.
"I'm happy to see that we could elevate our game to get out of that jam, but I'd much rather not even get to that point," he said.
Boonstra shut out her opponent on the singles court for the second day in a row, and Cohen and Frangulyan lost just two games each.
Thornqvist has been pleased with his team's play so far, just two matches into the season, but he noticed something equally important the last couple days.
"The best thing about these two days in my opinion - obviously we've won, we've won easy and we've played pretty well - but we've had championship body language up and down the courts," he said. "We've looked like pros, and that's what it's going to take for us to have a chance."
Now UF will get a day off before taking the court again on Saturday. The Gators will face South Alabama at 1 p.m. at the Ring Tennis Complex.
The No. 14 UF men's tennis team will also compete this weekend for the first time. The team will play Furman at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the Ring Tennis Complex.
Men's coach Andy Jackson said his team is looking forward to finally stepping on the courts in a dual-match setting.
"The thing that's exciting about NCAA tennis is the dual-team matches," Jackson said "They're really eager to get going, and so am I."
