Freshmen Embree, Will continue to impress

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – The Florida women’s tennis doubles team of Lauren Embree and Allie Will advanced to the semifinals of the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships Friday at the Riviera Tennis Club.

Embree and Will, both freshmen, upended Georgia Tech’s 11th-ranked team of Amanda McDowell and Irina Falconi, 8-0, and moved into the final four of the prestigious national event.

“Lauren and Allie were in a zone today on the doubles court,” UF associate head coach Dave Balogh said. “The competed very hard and made just four errors in the entire match. I hope they can continue this run.”

After earning the impressive doubles victory, the Gator rookies turned their attention to the singles court, where both were in action in the round of 32 with senior teammate Marrit Boonstra (The Netherlands). Will turned in an impressive 6-2, 6-4 victory over Stanford’s fifth-ranked Hilary Barte, while Embree knocked out North Carolina’s 12th-ranked Sanaz Marand, 7-5, 7-6. Boonstra wasn’t as fortunate, as she dropped a tough 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 decision to California’s 18th-ranked Marina Cossou.

Embree and Will returned to action in the quarterfinals and suffered tough losses. Embree, who played her way through three rounds of qualifying action, lost to California’s fourth-ranked Jana Juricova, 6-2, 6-4. Will, who was playing her ninth singles match since Oct. 3 and her sixth in the last four days, fell to Georgia’s second-ranked Chelsey Gullickson, 7-6, 7-6.