There was an air of excitement and celebration at Linder Stadium last weekend when Florida beat Georgia and Tennessee to claim at least a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season title, but the Gators still have a lot to play for heading into their last regular-season match.
If Florida can beat South Carolina when the two square off Saturday in Linder Stadium at 11 a.m., it will add to one of the most impressive runs of dominance in collegiate sports.
In the 32 years the SEC has sported women's tennis, the Gators have taken the regular-season title an astonishing 25 times, including this year.
"I know they definitely don't want to share this trophy with anyone," coach Roland Thornqvist said, "so I'm definitely not worried about Saturday from a motivating standpoint."
Thornqvist praised his team for its resilience and toughness throughout the season and expressed gratitude for the Gators' three freshmen, who he called "freshmen no longer."
As the No. 1 team in the nation, Florida is expected to handle the No. 38 Gamecocks, and UF hasn't disappointed in matches it was expected to win this year.
En route to a 10-0 record in the SEC so far, the Gators have outscored conference opponents 61-2, winning every doubles point.
A win against the Gamecocks would mean an outright SEC title for the Gators, and it would be their second consecutive year posting an undefeated conference record and capturing a regular season trophy.
"We have to continue to work on our doubles play going into South Carolina," Thornqvist said.
The Gamecocks dropped a tightly contested 4-3 match to Georgia last weekend, and Thornqvist said they could be dangerous if Florida lets its guard down.
"South Carolina is one of those teams, that if you're not ready to play, they'll bite you."
The Gators switched up their doubles lineups to great avail last weekend, as the Court 3 team of Joanna Mather and Olivia Janowicz beat a team from Tennessee, while the Court 2 duo of Lauren Embree and Sofie Oyen topped the No. 17 team in the country.
And while most of the talk this week has been directed toward the doubles lineups, Thornqvist said the youth of the Gators might be what has kept them motivated over the course of relatively smooth sailing this season.
"Even though we're young - or perhaps because we're young - I'm not terribly concerned [with motivation]," he said. "We just like to play."
