Victoria Emma was getting frustrated.
She dropped her first set in singles to Tennessee’s Johanna Silva but quickly captured the second set and took a commanding 4-1 lead in the third.
She seemed to be headed towards a third singles victory but had trouble finishing Silva off. Emma dropped consecutive 40-40 games, and a meltdown seemed imminent.
But Emma rallied back, won the next game and froze Silva with a powerful serve to claim Florida’s third point of the match.
That mentality, which aided Emma in her crucial win, helped Florida (7-6) defeat No. 16 Tennessee (12-5) 4-2 at home on a rainy Sunday. Slated to start at 1 p.m., the match was delayed due to inclement weather and moved inside the Perry Indoor Facility.
“The highlight of the day, I think, was Victoria (Emma) and the way she carried herself,” coach Roland Thornqvist said. “We talked a lot about her body language and the warrior mentality with her.”
Florida entered doubles play uncharacteristically lethargic and was hammered by the Volunteers. Tennessee dominated in its first victory coming from No. 8-ranked duo Sadie Hammond and Kaitlin Staines over Emma and McCartney Kessler (6-1), while Silva and Rebeka Mertena handled freshmen Marlee Zein and Anastasia Kharitonova (6-3).
The transfer tandem of Ida Jarlskog and Tsveta Dimitrova managed to get a 6-1 win for Florida, but the effort wasn’t enough. Florida dropped the opening point in its second-consecutive match.
Jarlskog brought a new energy for the Gators in singles play. The Georgia Tech transfer continued to show why she’s ranked No. 12 in the country, routing No. 65 Hammond for her ninth win of the season (6-3, 6-3).
No. 44 Kessler put Florida on top after defeating Staines 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) on Court 2. Kessler led 5-4 and held a triple-match point in the second set, but lost the next four points to drop the game. She lost the next one as well, but fought back to force a tiebreaker and ultimately seal the second point for the Gators and pick up her sixth win of the season.
No. 52 Emma subsequently finished Silva 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in a three-set thriller that put Florida in control with three remaining matches to play. Emma claimed her third singles victory this season, making up for her straight-set loss to UGA’s Lourdes Carle on Friday.
Tennessee earned its second point of the match after Ariadna Riley defeated Dimitrova 6-3, 6-3 to make the match 3-2. Zein quickly closed out Mertena on Court 1 and ultimately defeated the Tennessee freshman 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 to clinch the victory for Florida.
“The reaction by the three players that went on right after the doubles loss was really good and set the tone for the rest of the match,” Thornqvist said. “I thought we saw some fantastic tennis in singles.”
Follow Victor Prieto on Twitter @victorprieto_11 and contact him at vprieto@alligator.org.
Victoria Emma claimed Florida's third point of the match in Sunday's 4-2 upset win over No. 16 Tennessee.
