Sports | Other Sports Tennis - The Independent Florida Alligator

UF coach Roland Thornqvist had tooled with the idea of changing his lineup away from pairing seniors with freshmen. After his team's success over the weekend, he reconsidered.

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Florida women’s tennis team sticking with senior-freshman doubles format

By River Wells | Jan. 29, 2018

Two hundred eighty-one days.

Andy Andrade is the No. 3 freshman on Florida's depth chart, but coach Bryan Shelton expressed confidence in his young player. “I think a lot of people are going to overlook this guy,” Shelton said.

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‘Don’t sleep on Andy Andrade': Freshman impresses in first week of dual match season

By Benjamin Brandt | Jan. 29, 2018

Andy Andrade wrapped his arm around his coach and smiled. He looked comfortable and confident. Volunteer assistant coach Scott Perelman had just joined Andrade on the sideline after the freshman concluded a speedy 6-0 first set win on the No. 5 singles court against South Alabama on Saturday. The two sat close on Andrade’s bench. They laughed.

Junior Alfredo Perez persisted through a grueling singles match that lasted an hour and 45 minutes against USF Sunday afternoon.

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Florida men’s tennis team sweeps USF to clinch spot in ITA Indoor Championship

By Benjamin Brandt | Jan. 28, 2018

Junior Alfredo Perez’s roar echoed inside the Perry Indoor Facility at the Ring Tennis Complex on Sunday. He had just turned the bad fortune of a serve’s awkward bounce off the net into an aggressive backhand winner. The shot kept Perez alive in the first set tiebreaker of a highly competitive match he’d eventually win, 7-6(6), 6-2, over South Florida senior Grayson Goldin.

Senior Josie Kuhlman was the first to win her singles match of the day and helped her team earn a spot at the ITA Division I Women’s Team Indoor Championships in February.

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UF women’s tennis team clinches ITA Indoor Championships berth with win over Louisiana-Monroe

By River Wells | Jan. 28, 2018

Every competing senior on the Florida women’s tennis team won their singles match in a 4-0 rout of Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, leaving UF’s freshmen unable to finish their matches. During Sunday’s matchup with Louisiana-Monroe at the Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, it was their turn to close the dual-match out.

Senior Anna Danilina and the No. 3 Gators swept Cal State Fullerton Saturday afternoon in their first dual-match meet of the season. “Everyone was a bit nervous,” Danilina said. “But I think we handled it well."

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Florida women’s tennis team sweeps Cal State Fullerton to advance to ITA Kick-Off Weekend Finals

By River Wells | Jan. 27, 2018

As senior Anna Danilina crouched down awaiting a serve, the home crowd at the Ring Tennis Complex began to clap in unison, a signal to Cal State Fullerton freshman Genevieve Zeidan that the match was about to come to an end.

Coach Bryan Shelton and the No. 6 Gators men's tennis team are playing for a bid to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship this weekend in Gainesville.

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Florida men’s tennis team hoping to secure bid to ITA National Indoor Championship

By Benjamin Brandt | Jan. 25, 2018

The Florida men’s tennis team is looking to start dual-match play 2-0 for the eighth consecutive season this weekend.

Senior Josie Kuhlman and the Gators begin dual-match play Saturday morning at 9. They are looking to rebound from a shaky opening tournament in Las Vegas.

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Gators women’s tennis team officially begins dual-match play with ITA Kickoff Weekend

By River Wells | Jan. 25, 2018

The Gators women’s tennis team has faced some of the best programs in the nation this season. When it comes to its upcoming opponent in Cal State Fullerton, however, the squad is left entirely in the dark.

Bryan Shelton said his players need to conserve their energy better following Monday’s win over UCF. “We had guys run out of gas,” he said.

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Florida men’s tennis coach Bryan Shelton looking for his players to control on-court emotions

By Benjamin Brandt | Jan. 23, 2018

The Gators had already clinched the match. A crowd of over 350 fans had dwindled down to just a handful. In its home opener against UCF on Monday night, Florida was just about ready to return to the locker room victorious. But junior McClain Kessler was still battling for a third-set win on the No. 6 singles court.

Florida men's tennis player teammate McClain Kessler (above) and teammate Duarte Vale defeated UCF doubles pair Mikhail Sokolovskiy and Gabriel Decamps 6-4 on Monday. The Gators as a whole beat the Knights 6-1 for the team's 2018 home opener at the Ring Tennis Complex.

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Florida men’s tennis team victorious in home opener against UCF

By Benjamin Brandt | Jan. 22, 2018

The Florida men’s tennis team gave the home crowd at the Ring Tennis Complex exactly what it wanted in Monday’s home-opener against UCF.

Former Florida tennis player Belinda Woolcock went from an apprehensive 18-year-old nervous about leaving home to an NCAA champion full of confidence.

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Home Away From Home: Belinda Woolcock’s decision to leave Australia for the U.S. paid off

By Mari Faiello | Jan. 22, 2018

It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment Belinda Woolcock never saw coming.

Junior Alfredo Perez and the Gators men's tennis team begin dual-match play tonight against UCF.

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Florida hosts UCF tonight in its men's tennis dual-match season opener

By Benjamin Brandt | Jan. 21, 2018

The Florida men’s tennis team kicks off its dual-match season today against UCF as the No. 9-ranked program in the country. The Gators have won all 16 previous matchups with the Knights, including a 7-0 sweep in 2013 when the teams last met.

Florida men’s tennis coach Bryan Shelton has shifted his focus to UF’s home opener against UCF on Monday following freshman Duarte Vale’s exit from the City of Sunrise Pro Tennis Classic. “We know UCF is a really good team this year,” he said.

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Duarte Vale eliminated in Sunrise Pro Tennis Classic, Gators men’s tennis team getting ready to host UCF

By Benjamin Brandt | Jan. 18, 2018

The Florida men’s tennis team was one player shy of its usual squad during Thursday afternoon’s practice. Freshman Duarte Vale was busy competing in the second round of the City of Sunrise Pro Tennis Classic while the rest of his teammates were in Gainesville preparing for their home opener against UCF on Monday.

Coach Bryan Shelton will watch two of his freshmen compete in the main draw on Wednesday afternoon.

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Gators competing in main draw of Sunrise tourney

By Benjamin Brandt | Jan. 16, 2018

After a day of rain and four rounds of competitive qualifying play over the weekend, two Florida men’s tennis players will battle in the City of Sunrise Pro Tennis Classic’s main draw this morning.

Coach Roland Thorqvist watched his players struggle over the weekend in their season-opening tournament in Las Vegas. “Although our performances were too up and down, there’s no question we have the ability to improve a lot in the next few weeks," Thornqvist said.

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Gators struggle in season-opening Freeman Memorial

By River Wells | Jan. 16, 2018

Of the four Florida women’s tennis players who competed in the Freeman Memorial in Las Vegas over the weekend, three of them were freshmen looking to make an immediate impact on the team. Overall, UF’s first-year players mostly fell flat.

Two of coach Bryan Shelton's three freshmen qualified for the main draw in the Sunrise Pro Tennis Classic over the weekend. Jordan Belga and Duarte Vale will play their matches later this week.

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Two freshmen will represent UF in main draw of Sunrise Pro Tennis Classic

By Benjamin Brandt | Jan. 15, 2018

A successful first set of tennis placed freshman Duarte Vale just six games away from victory on Monday. But after dropping the second set and battling for a 5-5 tie in the deciding third, Vale faced elimination. He won the final two games of the match however, and secured his spot in the City of Sunrise Pro Tennis Classic’s main draw with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 upset over No. 8-seeded Filip Bergevi.

Florida sophomore Johannes Ingildsen lost in the third round of the City of Sunrise Pro Tennis Classic's qualifying draw on Sunday, leaving teammates Jordan Belga, Oliver Crawford and Duarte Vale as the only Gators remaining in the event.

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Three UF men’s tennis players advance to final round of qualifying draws in Sunrise Pro Tennis Classic

By Benjamin Brandt | Jan. 14, 2018

It’s not often you see college teammates competing against each other in a professional tournament. On Monday morning, however, two of Florida’s men’s tennis players will go head to head for a spot in the City of Sunrise Pro Tennis Classic’s main draw.

Florida women's tennis coach Roland Thornqvist watched UF freshman Victoria Emma lose her semifinals match in the Freeman Memorial on Saturday in Las Vegas.

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Emma falls in semifinals of Freeman Memorial Women’s Tennis Championships

By River Wells | Jan. 13, 2018

With a victory against UCLA’s Jessie Aney (6-4, 6-2) on Saturday, Florida freshman Victoria Emma punched her ticket to the semifinals of the Freeman Memorial Women’s Tennis Championships in Las Vegas. She was one step closer to her goal of winning the event’s singles tournament.

Florida women's tennis coach Roland Thornqvist watched three of his four players competing in the singles bracket of the Freeman Memorial lose on Saturday.

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Gators off to rough start as Day 1 of Freeman Memorial Women’s Tennis Championships concludes

By River Wells | Jan. 12, 2018

Freshman McCartney Kessler saw her first action as a member of the women’s tennis team on Friday, and it didn’t go the way she had hoped.

Florida women’s tennis player Josie Kuhlman earned All-SEC First Team honors last season on the way to UF winning its seventh national championship in program history.

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Gators moving on from NCAA title, begin 2018 at UNLV Invite

By River Wells | Jan. 11, 2018

The Florida women’s tennis team ended 2017 as NCAA champions and the No. 1 ranked team in the country. But in 2018, nothing is guaranteed.

Gators men’s tennis coach Bryan Shelton and eight of his players kick off the spring season today in Sunrise, Florida.

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UF opens season today at City of Sunrise Pro Tennis Classic

By Benjamin Brandt | Jan. 11, 2018

Eight members of the Florida men’s tennis team will compete in the qualifying rounds of the City of Sunrise Pro Tennis Classic this weekend in Sunrise, Florida. The tournament marks the start of UF’s spring season after earning a preseason ranking of No. 9 in the nation.