The Gators have hit the century mark.
The No. 2 Florida women’s tennis team defeated Vanderbilt on Friday evening 6-1, continuing an undefeated start to Southeastern Conference play with the milestone victory. UF’s 100-game home winning streak dates back to May 15, 2004. Only the Ohio State men’s tennis squad has gone longer without a home defeat.
“We’ve had a lot of good players here and this year’s team is up there with any team we’ve ever had,” coach Roland Thornqvist said. “I can think of many great memories here — in 2009 when we were lean on players and in 2005 and 2006 when we had some really tough players who kept this streak going.”
Thornqvist, who has been Florida’s coach throughout the run, has stated that the streak was never a point of emphasis for the team. He recognized the magnitude of the accomplishment, but said the Gators are more focused on winning another national title.
Florida (9-1, 3-0 SEC) played a solid match Friday, winning a tight doubles point. The Gators were leading 5-2 on court one until the Commodores won four of the next five games to tie the match at six. The team of Allie Will and Sofie Oyen fended off its opponent and won the match 9-8 (7-5). After that, UF finished off Vandy (10-5, 2-1 SEC) in singles play.
All five victorious Florida singles players won in straight sets, and only sophomore Alex Cercone was defeated in her match.
“I thought we looked like a championship team in singles because Vanderbilt is really good and gave us all we could handle in doubles,” Thornqvist said. “I was curious to see how we were going to begin singles play and I thought the first 30 minutes we just put out the flames immediately. We ran well and made good decisions. We showed good patience and were tough.”
With the 100th win of the streak in the books, the Gators will look to continue their perfect SEC start. Florida will put both streaks on the line in a home match against Kentucky on Sunday.
