Alexandra Cercone has proved she can battle when it counts.
The junior tennis player worked through two sets and a tiebreaker third set to help Florida clinch a 7-0 victory against South Carolina.
Cercone won a close first set 6-4 against USC’s Elixane Lechemia, but she fell in the second 3-6. Tiebreaks have proved in Florida’s favor in the past, and Cercone worked serve advantage to earn a 10-4 tiebreak score for a 1-0 third set win.
As dominating as Cercone was in singles, doubles proved a bit tougher with a change in line up.
Cercone paired with senior Sofie Oyen and fell 1-8 while holding serve to give USC a chance for the doubles point.
Lauren Embree and Brianna Morgan finished out USC’s Josefin Anderson and Katerina Popova first with an 8-2 win.
Senior Caroline Hitimana and junior Olivia Janowicz battled back and forth in games against USC’s Lechemia and Ximena Siles Luna, but held serve to clinch the doubles point in a 9-7 win.
“That was a great win and gave us a lot of momentum and confidence in the locker room between doubles and singles,” coach Roland Thornqvist said.
“I’m really proud of the way they found their composure and were able to close out the win.”
Singles came as a breeze for many Gators after doubles, with freshman Morgan dominating Dominika Kanakova 6-0, 6-0 for the first singles win of the day.
Janowicz blazed through serves to win 6-0, 6-1 for another Florida win.
Oyen came out winning the first eight games against USC’s Jaklin Alawi, but found trouble as the Gamecock won serve and battled back to win two straight games. Oyen kept Alawi down throughout the second set, winning 6-2 and 6-0 in the first.
Hitimana didn’t let Anderson’s powerful serves get the best of her, coming out with a 6-2 win in the first set and shutting her out 6-1 in the second.
Embree drove balls all over Popova’s court to throw the player for a loop and win 6-0 in the first set. Popova gained serve and worked hard to come back in the second, but Embree defeated her chances with a 6-2 takeover.
The Gators are 2-1 in SEC play with today’s win.
“Overall, this was an impressive win,” Thornqvist said. “I thought we looked strong on every court and played smart tennis.”
Alexandra Cercone returns a volley. Cercone propelled Florida to a 7-0 victory against South Carolina on Saturday.
