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The No. 2 UF women's tennis team continued to plow through
opponents Saturday, easily blanking Vanderbilt 4-0 in the
semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Knoxville,
Tenn.
The top-seeded Gators (24-1) rode another impressive doubles
victory, this time from the No. 9 duo of Allie Will and Alex
Cercone, to a tide of momentum in singles play.
Will and Cercone took just 35 minutes to top Vanderbilt's Rachael
Dillon and Jackie Wu 8-1. Joanna Mather and Olivia Janowicz
followed with a win on Court 3, earning Florida the doubles
point.
"I thought we played well overall, at Court 1 doubles especially,"
coach Roland Thornqvist said. "At Court 3 doubles we're getting
better and better. In singles, we looked very strong in some spots
and not so great at others."
During singles play, Lauren Embree and Janowicz won on Courts 1 and
6, respectively, to set Will's match-clinching victory on Court
2.
Embree and Will, the superstar sophomores who have paced the Gators
all season, have come out strong in the first two matches of the
postseason, and Thornqvist said the team would continue to lean on
the young duo heading into the finals against the second-seeded
Tennessee.
"Clearly they've proven themselves all year, we've relied on them
all year and we will rely on them in the postseason just the same,"
he said. "They definitely took care of business today, and they
were off the court quickly which can really help at the end of the
tournament."
On Sunday, the Gators will be challenged with facing the Volunteers
in their home stadium-a rematch of last season's SEC Championship
bout where Florida prevailed 4-1-but Thornqvist said his team would
be adequately motivated.
"Any time you get a final in anything, you're going to be playing a
team who is playing at least as good as you are," he said.
"We just have to play with that toughness and discipline that we
have always played with. The little things will determine the
outcome [Sunday], and that's something that we've been telling our
players all along."
MEN'S TENNIS
The UF men's tennis team is finally living up to its
potential.
The fifth-seeded Gators won their third match in as many days
Saturday, this time, a monumental 4-2 upset over top-seeded
Tennessee in Linder Stadium.
The Volunteers clobbered Florida on April 10, a 7-0 shutout in
Knoxville. But at home on Saturday, the story was much different as
UF's Billy Federhofer provided the heroics in a lengthy three-set
singles win to clinch the match.
"We played one of our best matches against a championship team,"
coach Andy Jackson said. "We keep coming close and keep coming
close and doing the right things, and today we finally got over the
hump."
Federhofer topped Tennessee's Matteo Fago 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 on Court 5
to finish the upset. The Gators won four singles matches after
losing the doubles point.
Among the highlights in Florida's singles victories included senior
leader Alexandre Lacroix beating Tennessee's John-Patrick Smith in
straight sets.
Saturday's win came just one day after Jackson said the Gators had
the "biggest moment" of their season in a win against Mississippi
State in the tournament quarterfinals on Friday.
Jackson said the Gators were a much different team the second time
against the Volunteers.
"We had just had a really tough match against Georgia the last time
we played [Tennessee]," Jackson said. "We got discouraged, and
Tennessee played great that day. It was their Senior Day, and they
had the crowd and everything was in their favor. We didn't feel
like we were a bad team that day, and today we proved that we can
be one of the best teams."
The Gators will play third-seeded Kentucky for the SEC tournament
title Sunday at noon.
"Kentucky is another championship team, and I feel like they're one
of the teams that can make it to the final four of the NCAA
tournament," Jackson said.
