Freshman Joanna Mather rallied for three-set singles victory and helped the University of Florida women’s tennis team capture a thrilling 4-2 win over Florida State that sent the Gators to the third round of the NCAA Championships on Sunday at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
The difference between UF’s 5-2 regular-season loss was its singles play, as the Gators were able to collect two victories and improve to 49-1 all-time against the Seminoles (17-8). The singles lineups were identical, but Mather, in addition to freshman Jessica Alexander rebounded for wins, while junior Marrit Boonstra earned her second win of the year against FSU’s top player.
Similar to the regular-season meeting against Florida State, the Gators (16-9) began Sunday’s postseason bout winning a thrilling doubles point, as UF’s No. 1 pair of Boonstra and Mather topped Federica Suess and Katie Rybakova, 8-5, before Alexander and Revzina defeated Jessica Sucupira and Bonny Davidson, 8-4, in 61 minutes.
Florida next plays No. 2-seeded Georgia on Fri., May 15 in the NCAA Round of 16 in College Station, Texas. The teams split two meetings this season, with the Gators winning the regular-season affair, 4-3, on March 13, before the Lady Bulldogs captured the 4-2 decision in the SEC Tournament semifinals on April 25.
Sunday’s win, which extended UF’s program-record home winning streak to 66 matches, gives the Gators their 26th appearance in the round of 16 at the 28th NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships.
Photo Gallery: Women’s Tennis, NCAA Tournament 2nd Round, UF vs. FSU, 5/10/09
DIRECTORY OF GATOR COUNTRY PHOTO GALLERIES