Florida Gators
#8 Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt Deals Florida First SEC Loss of the Season, 4-1
Sunday, April 5, 2015 | Women's Tennis
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Any plans of a perfect Southeastern Conference season for the No. 6 Florida Gators were spoiled by fellow top-10 SEC contender No. 8 Vanderbilt, as the Gators fell to the Commodores, 4-1, on Sunday afternoon at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center.
UF was unable to bounce back from a difficult doubles loss, and Vanderbilt capitalized on its momentum created from clinching the early point heading into singles play. The Commodores earned quick singles wins at Nos. 1 and 5 to take a commanding 3-0 lead, but Florida junior No. 24 Brianna Morgan kept the Gators around with a 7-6 (5), 6-0 win over Vanderbilt's No. 100 Courtney Colton. The Commodores clinched at the No. 2 position, as No. 71 Astra Sharma handed No. 7 Josie Kuhlman her first career SEC singles loss.
The Gators return home for their final two matches of the regular season, starting with No. 5 Georgia, their second consecutive top-10 opponent, on Friday, April 10 at 5 p.m.
| 2015 University of Florida Women's Tennis | ||||||
| Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center | ||||||
| Nashville, Tenn. | ||||||
| Sunday, April 5, 2015 | ||||||
| Doubles | FLORIDA | vs | VANDERBILT | Winner |
| Score/match length |
| Brooke Austin (8) | Sydney Campbell (18) | |||||
| No. 1 - | Kourtney Keegan (8) | Courtney Colton (18) | DNF | 7-7 (3-1), DNF | ||
| Spencer Liang (54) | Ashleigh Antal (24) | |||||
| No. 2 - | Belinda Woolcock (54) | Astra Sharma (24) | VANDY | 8-6 | ||
| Josie Kuhlman (31) | Frances Altick | |||||
| No. 3 - | Peggy Porter (31) | Marie Casares | VANDY | 8-5 | ||
| Singles | FLORIDA | vs | VANDERBILT | Winner |
| Score/match length |
| No. 1 - | Brooke Austin (5) | Sydney Campbell (12) | VANDY | 6-3, 6-2 | ||
| No. 2 - | Josie Kuhlman (7) | Astra Sharma (71) | VANDY | 6-3, 6-4 | ||
| No. 3 - | Brianna Morgan (24) | Courtney Colton (100) | UF | 7-6 (5), 6-0 | ||
| No. 4 - | Kourtney Keegan (37) | Frances Altick (111) | DNF | 6-1, 4-4, DNF | ||
| No. 5 - | Belinda Woolcock (41) | Marie Casares (96) | VANDY | 6-1, 6-3 | ||
| No. 6 - | Peggy Porter (112) | Ashleigh Antal | DNF | 3-6, 6-2, 1-3, DNF | ||
| FINAL SCORE: | Florida – 1 | Vanderbilt – 4 | * Clinched victory | |||
| Records: | Florida 18-2, 10-1 | Vanderbilt 15-5, 10-1 | ||||
| Order of Finish: | Doubles: 3, 2* | Singles: 1, 5, 3, 2* | ||||
| Attendance: NA | ||||||
Quotes from the Match
Thornqvist's Thoughts – Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the contributing factors to today's loss…
We lost 4-1 to a Vanderbilt team that played better than us today. We've escaped the jaws of defeat more than once already this year. After a really, really high level of play in doubles and losing the point, we actually didn't react as positively as we usually do after a doubles loss. And I thought the first 15 minutes of singles set us back. We've been able to turn that around more than once already this year, but Vanderbilt made us unable to complete a comeback. I thought they were really good in closing us out. I know our players are very disappointed, but thankfully we still control our destiny and I know our players are ready to get home and begin to work anew for another difficult SEC weekend at home.
Florida vs. Vanderbilt:
Florida fell to Vanderbilt for just the third time in program history, as the Gators lead the all-time series with the Commodores, 47-3. All three losses have occurred in Nashville.
Florida vs. SEC Teams:
Florida holds a 437-30 all-time record against Southeastern Conference opponents including postseason matchups, and a 370-20 mark in regular-season matches (10-1 this season).
Tip-Top Competition:
Vanderbilt was the first top-10 team Florida faced since defeating No. 9 Alabama, 4-1, on Feb. 27. The Gators are now 3-2 versus teams ranked in the top 10 at the time of competition this season.
The SEC Elite:
Despite the Gators' first conference loss of the season, Florida remains atop the SEC along with Georgia and Vanderbilt. All three teams own a 10-1 conference record.
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