Florida Gators women’s tennis wins SEC tournament title

By
Andrew Spivey
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Report on the Florida Gators women’s tennis team:

BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 3 University of Florida women’s tennis team defeated the No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon to clinch the program’s 20th SEC Tournament title. The Gators have now won 16 matches in a row.  

In doubles action, the Gators were able to grab the doubles point over the Bulldogs with wins on three and one. Anna Danilina and Brianna Morgan defeated Brinson and Patterson, 6-2. Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan clinched the point with a 6-4 win on one over No. 12 Perez and Gould.

Singles action would go back and forth for the Gators and Bulldogs. Danilina was again the first off the singles court with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Laura Patterson on six. The Bulldogs got on the board with Shaffer’s 6-3, 6-0 win over Belinda Woolcock on court two. In a Top-10 match up on one, Austin defeated No. 3 Ellen Perez, 6-3, 7-5 to put Georgia on the brink with a 3-1 Florida lead.

Court five saw Josie Kuhlman fall to Mariana Gould in three sets, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. In the end, senior Morgan clinched the match for the Florida Gators, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 on court three to capture the program’s 20th SEC Tournament title and the Gators’ 16thstraight dual match win.

Austin and Morgan were named to the SEC All-Tournament Team after stellar play throughout the tournament. After clinching the match this afternoon, Morgan was named the SEC Tournament MVP.

Head Coach Roland Thornqvist 
On the journey to an SEC Tournament Title… 
“I think the key thing for our players is to feel like they are getting better. We are getting fitter. The little things that we work on week in and week out seem to prevail. That is probably the most important thing. We want to be able to tell our players and have our players feel like they have done all the work necessary all year. There was nothing else they could have done by the time we line up for the NCAA Championships. It is easier to play freely and go for it then when you feel like you have done the work.”
 
Final Results: 
#3 Florida 4, #4 Georgia 2 
Doubles-Order of Finish: 3, 1*

  1. #3 Austin/Keegan (UF) def. #12 Gould/Perez (UGA) 6-4
  2. #36 Kuhlman/Woolcock (UF) vs. #66 Garcia/Shaffer (UGA)
  3. #68 Danilina/Morgan (UF) def. Brinson/Patterson (UGA) 6-2

Singles-Order of Finish: 6, 2, 1, 5, 3*

  1. #7 Brooke Austin (UF) def. #3 Ellen Perez (UGA) 6-3, 7-5
  2. #47 Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) def. #9 Belinda Woolcock (UF)  6-3, 6-0
  3. Brianna Morgan (UF) def. #97 Silvia Garcia (UGA) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
  4. #36 Kourtney Keegan (UF) vs. #30 Carolina Brinson (UGA) 7-5, 3-6, 5-4, susp.
  5. Mariana Gould (UGA) def. Josie Kuhlman (UF) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
  6. #65 Anna Danilina (UF) def. Laura Patterson (UGA) 6-3, 6-2
Andrew Spivey
Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.