Both Gators tennis teams continued their dominance of the Southeastern Conference West in Friday’s SEC Tournament action.
In Athens, Ga., the No. 1 seed women’s team was proficient in defeating No. 8 seed LSU 4-0.
“We played well today,” UF women's coach Roland Thornqvist said. “We got off the courts in two hours and ten minutes which is effective timing when it’s hot.”
The No. 4 doubles team of freshman Allie Will and senior Marrit Boonstra put Florida in position to secure the first point with an 8-1 win over No. 82 Keri Frankenberger and Whitney Wolf.
In singles, Boonstra and Will continued to lead the way.
No. 75 Boonstra put UF ahead 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Nicole Kantor on court No. 3. The win advances Boonstra’s win streak to 12 matches in a row.
No. 7 Will advanced to 21-0 in singles dual-match competition this season with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Kaitlin Burns at the No. 2 spot.
The clinching win for the Gators was provided by sophomore Claire Bartlett at the No. 6 position. Bartlett defeated Hannah Robinson 6-1, 6-0 in her 10th-straight win in singles.
In Saturday’s semifinals match Florida will face No. 5 seed South Carolina at 10 a.m. The Gamecocks are coming off of an upset over tournament host No. 4 seed Georgia.
In Lexington, Ky., the No. 2 seed men’s tennis team can finally say it has defeated every team in the SEC West.
Upperclassmen leadership and depth carried UF past No. 10 seed Mississippi State 4-1 in the two teams’ first meeting since the March 21 rainout.
In doubles, the No. 14 team of senior Antoine Benneteau and junior Alexandre Lacroix clinched the first point for Florida with an 8-2 win over No. 35 George Coupland and Artem Ilyushin.
In singles, No. 5 Lacroix finished first with a 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 109 Coupland at the No. 1 spot.
Freshman Sekou Bangoura Jr. put the Gators in position to clinch the victory with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Max Gregor Smith on court No. 6.
Ilyushin kept the Bulldogs from being shut out by defeating Benneteau 6-3, 7-6 at court No. 3.
The clinching win came from first-year sophomore Nassim Slilam at the No. 5 position. Slilam defeated Daniel Sanchez 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 to advance UF to the semifinals.
Florida will face No. 6 seed Auburn at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The Tigers upset No. 3 seed Georgia 4-3 to advance to the semifinals.
