Before Saturday’s matchup, three Southeastern Conference teams were undefeated in conference play: No. 3 Georgia, No. 7 Florida and No. 8 South Carolina.
Now there’s two.
Florida (12-2, 7-0 SEC) defeated the Gamecocks (14-3, 6-1 SEC) 4-1 on the road to hand South Carolina its first SEC loss of the season. With the win, Florida increased its record against the Gamecocks to 42-2 all time.
“After we lost the doubles point for the second time this year, I really liked the way we responded. It was all business,” coach Roland Thornqvist said in a release. “There was no panic and we went out and won three first sets fairly quickly. I like where we are right now.”
South Carolina became the second team this season to take the doubles point over Florida since Kentucky did it on March 10.
After the Gamecocks won the first doubles set, the duo of sophomore Anna Danilina and senior Brianna Morgan defeated Ingrid Gamarra Martin and Ximena Siles Luna 6-2.
Then, in a close third set where No. 30 sophomore Josie Kuhlman and junior Belinda Woolcock were ahead 6-5, Caroline Dailey and Brigit Folland fought back to win the next three games, earning a 8-6 win and a 1-0 lead for South Carolina.
Florida responded with dominant singles play, something it has shown flashes of this season.
No. 43 Keegan began with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over No. 89 Berg to tie the score. No. 67 Dailey played No. 10 Austin close in the first set, with Austin emerging with a 7-5 win.
The second set, though, was all Florida. Austin delivered, stopping any momentum Dailey had. The sophomore took the second set 6-1 to put the Gators ahead by one.
No. 9 Woolcock defeated No. 75 Martin 6-2, 6-4 giving Florida a 3-1 lead and only needing one more win to clinch the match.
That clinch would come from No. 82 Kuhlman, who defeated Folland 6-2, 6-3 to extend Florida’s dual-match winning streak to seven straight.
Florida returns home for its final two home matches this weekend. On Thursday, the Gators take on No. 15 LSU at 5 p.m. and No. 17 Texas A&M at 1 p.m on Saturday.
“It is the time of year now that we are starting to play outside in the heat and start playing tournament tennis where fitness and toughness are going to make a difference,” Thornqvist said. “I am really proud of these guys. They fought hard today against a great South Carolina team.”
Contact Jake Dreilinger at jdreilinger@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DreilingerJake.
Senior Josie Kuhlman scored the deciding point in Florida's 4-2 win over Arkansas in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. The Gators will face either Ole Miss or Vanderbilt for the title on Sunday.
