When it seemed like the Gators women’s tennis team might pull off yet another come-from-behind victory, Marlee Zein faltered.
The freshman out of Sugar Land, Texas, had clinched three matches this season. The Gators trailed 3-2 overall, but sophomore Ida Jarlskog led on Court 1. Zein, however, fell to Kansas’ Sonia Smagina, eliminating Florida in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and ending its season.
“When you play away in the NCAAs against a really good team like this, you can't have 10 minutes of below par performance,” coach Roland Thornqvist said in a release after the loss. “I have to give credit to our players though, because we got close in doubles and fought hard in singles, as well.”
The No. 24 Gators were up against the hosting Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kansas, in front of a hostile 500-plus crowd with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. Florida couldn’t overcome its early woes, falling into a deficit too large by losing the doubles point and trailing early in singles.
The Gators were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the second round for the second consecutive season after winning it all in 2017.
Kansas started off the match as it had most of its Big 12 championship season: winning the doubles point.
Entering Saturday, the Jayhawks had dropped just one doubles point in the 24 matches they’ve played this season. Things were no different against the Gators.
Kansas’ Maria Toran Ribes and Malkia Ngounoue kicked it off with a victory over freshman duo Sydney Berlin and Zein on Court 3 (6-3). No. 6 pair Janet Koch and Nina Khmelnitckaia claimed the opening point for Kansas over No. 25 sophomore tandem McCartney Kessler and Victoria Emma, 6-3. Ida Jarlskog and Tsveta Dimitrova won their match, but the effort still wasn’t enough.
Singles play was more of the same for Florida.
Berlin, who had been on a four match winning streak, was the first to fall for the Gators. Toran Ribes was too much for the lefty, and she fell in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) to give Kansas a 2-0 lead. The shutout didn’t last long, though, as Dimitrova quickly answered back with a win of her own. The Houston-transfer defeated Khmelnitckaia 6-3, 6-2 to give Florida its first point of the day.
Plobrung Plipuech put the Jayhawks one win away from advancing to the second weekend after she bested Victoria Emma in a straight set 6-2, 6-3 victory. Down two with three matches remaining, Zein, Jarlskog and Kessler all needed victories to keep the Gators alive.
No. 30 Kessler did her part, defeating No. 112 Koch 7-5, 6-4 while No. 15 Jarlskog led No. 13 Anastasia Rychagova late on Court 1. After dropping the first set 7-5, Zein couldn’t retake the momentum over Smagina and fell 7-5, 6-4 ending Florida’s season in Kansas.
“I thought our play improved as the year went on and that's always what you want to see,” Thornqvist said of Florida’s young team, which is made up of all but one underclassman. “I'm hopeful and optimistic that this whole year of experience is going to contribute to some great growth for us as a team."
Follow Victor Prieto on Twitter @victorprieto_11. Contact him at vprieto@alligator.org.
The Gators women's tennis team suffered a season-ending loss to Kansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
