Alabama knows how difficult it is to defeat the No. 21 UF women's tennis team. After all, the No. 26 Red Tide has lost all 34 meetings between the two, including Friday's 4-1 victory in favor of the Gators.
Anastasia Revzina and Barbara Pinterova clinched the doubles point on Court 2 after Marrit Boonstra and Joanna Mather won on Court 1.
UF coach Roland Thornqvist was impressed by his team's toughness. It was a welcome homecoming for UF (11-7, 5-4 Southeastern Conference) after back-to-back road losses.
"The theme for today, I think, was that we were resilient," Thornqvist said. "We lost the leads on some courts, both at (Court) 2 doubles and some spots in singles, but we didn't let it roll over and lose the set because of it.
"We let it get to maybe 5-4 or 4-3 and then we put it in another gear, and I was really happy to see that. I think that's the mark of a good team is being able to handle the ebbs and flows of the match, and we did a good job."
Ebbs and flows against the Tide. Slick. As slick as Boonstra's return to dominance in a 6-3, 6-2 win against Tiffany Welcher.
Mather clinched the dual match with her seventh consecutive victory. Jessica Alexander also won her singles match. Revzina and Pinterova did not finish, though Pinterova was leading on Court 5.
"I was feeling like I could finish the match, like it's going to be fine," the freshman from Slovakia said. "But we need all our power for the next match, so for everybody it was better to stop it and put more effort toward the next match."
The next match is Sunday against No. 30 Auburn. Thornqvist and Boonstra anticipate a tough match.
"We're going to have our hands full, but we'll get together tomorrow, hit a little bit, figure out the game plan," Thornqvist said.
MEN BLAST 'BAMA: The No. 10 UF men's tennis team went to Tuscaloosa, Ala., without an inkling of fear. The result was a 5-2 win against No. 15 Alabama.
The Gators (15-6, 6-3 SEC) were victorious on all three double courts, taking a 1-0 lead into singles play.
Sophomore Alex Lacroix claimed the first singles match 7-5, 6-3 over Mathieu Thibaudeau, but the Red Tide followed that up with wins on courts 4 and 5, evening the score 2-2.
Jeff Dadamo put UF back into the lead before Antoine Benneteau clinched the match. Freshman Carlos Cueto was last to finish, beating No. 34 Saketh Myneni 7-6, 0-6, 7-5.
