The No. 8 Florida women’s tennis team opened its 2010 dual season with a 7-0 victory over North Texas Sunday afternoon at Linder Stadium. Not only did the Gators sweep the doubles point, all six of their singles victories came in two straight sets.
“North Texas was very good,” Florida head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “Our team was nervous and the wind was blowing out there so they forced us to be very good with the mental aspect of our game. The team had to be resilient and North Texas made our squad find that extra level of competition within them.”
For only the third time in program history, the Gators began a dual season with freshmen at both the No. 1 and 2 positions. Freshmen Lauren Embree and Allie Will joined Anouschka Popp and Divya Merchant (1993-94) and Joyce Portman and Sheryl Maskell (1976-77) as the only freshmen starters.
“I thought Lauren and Allie did great,” Thornqvist said. “They showed composure at the top of the lineup in their first year, but both of them have a great amount of international experience so I’m not terribly surprised at how they played today.”
No. 13 Will downed Madura Ranganathan, 6-2, 6-1, and No. 15 Embree downed Irina Paraschiv, 6-2, 6-2.
The Gators needed less than one hour to claim the doubles point with two wins. Embree and sophomore Anastasia Revzina downed Ranganathan and Paula Dinuta, 8-2, on court two. The 26th-ranked pair of senior Marritt Boonstra and Will clinched the doubles point witn an 8-3 victory over Paraschiv and Amy Joubert, on center court.
Boonstra gave Florida a 2-0 advantage by beating Catalina Cruz, 6-0, 6-1, in less than 50 minutes. Sophomore Claire Bartlett then beat Joubert, 6-1, 6-0, on court six. No. 92 Revzina then beat Dinuta, 6-2, 6-1, to clinch the match.
With a 6-0 lead, freshman Caroline Hitimana sealed the sweep for Florida and earned her first dual match victory with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Barbora Vykydalova on court five.
Florida plays host to UCF Wednesday at 5 p.m.
No. 8 FLORIDA 7, NORTH TEXAS 0
At Linder Stadium/Ring Tennis Complex, Gainesville, Fla.
Doubles
1. (26) Marrit Boonstra/Allie Will (F) def. Irina Paraschiv/Amy Joubert, 8-3; 2. Lauren Embree/Anastasia Revzina (F) def. Madura Ranganathan/Paula Dinuta, 8-2; 3 Carolina Hitimana/Joanna Mather (F) def. Barbora Vykydalova/Catalina Cruz, 8-6. Order of finish: 2, 1, 3. Florida won the doubles point.
Singles
1. (15) Lauren Embree (F) def. Irina Paraschiv, 6-2, 6-2; 2. (13) Allie Will (UF) def. Madura Ranganathan, 6-2, 6-1; 3. (92) Anastasia Revzina (F) def. Paula Dinuta, 6-2, 6-1; 4. (81) Marritt Boonstra (F) def. Catalina Cruz, 6-0, 6-1; 5. Caroline Hitimana (F) def. Barbora Vykydalova, 6-3, 6-4; 6. Claire Bartlett (F) def. Amy Joubert, 6-1, 6-0. Order of finish: 4, 6, 3, 2, 1, 5.
MEN’S TENNIS: The No. 11 Florida men’s tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision against the No. 6 Baylor Bears Sunday at the Baylor Tennis Center in Waco, Texas, falling to 1-1 on the season.
“Baylor was very sharp, very mature,” Florida head coach Andy Jackson said. “We were shown a lot of things we have to learn. In my mind, nothing has changed about this team. We’re just not ready yet to compete with the No. 6 team in the nation on the road, but that can change.”
Playing their first road match of the season, the Gators won on the fourth and fifth singles courts with senior Antoine Benneteau and sophomore Joey Burkhardt, respectively. Junior Alexandre Lacroix took his No. 1 singles match to three sets before succumbing to Baylor’s Denes Lukacs, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Freshmen Bob Van Overbeek played second singles for the Gators, facing 11th-ranked Jordan Rux, falling 7-5, 6-2. Fellow newcomers freshman Sekou Bangoura Jr. and sophomore Nassim Slilam also came up short on courts three and six.
Baylor also secured the doubles point, taking two of three from the Gators. Florida’s first doubles pair, the No. 10-rated tandem of Benneteau and Lacroix, posted a 9-7 victory on court one.
Florida plays Furman at 10 a.m. Saturday in the opening round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Gators will then face either Georgia Tech or Penn State on Sunday, Jan. 31, with the consolation match at 9 a.m. and the championship at 1 p.m. The winner of the event will earn a trip to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Va., Feb. 12-15.
No. 6 BAYLOR 5, No. 11 FLORIDA 2
At Waco, Texas
Doubles
1. (10) Antoine Benneteau/Alexandre Lacroix (F) def. Attila Bucko/Jordan Rux, 9-7; 2. Maros Horny/Denes Lukacs (B) def. Sekou Bangoura Jr./Joey Burkhardt, 9-7; 3. Julian Bley/Sergio Ramirez (B) def. Billy Federhofer/Bob Van Overbeek, 8-1. Order of finish: 3, 2, 1. Baylor wins doubles point.
Singles
1. Denes Lukacs (B) def. (7) Alexandre Lacroix, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1; 2. (11) Jordan Rux (B) def. Bob Van Overbeek, 7-5, 6-2; 3. Attila Bucko (B) def. Sekou Bangoura Jr., 6-4, 6-4; 4. Antoine Benneteau (F) def. Dominik Mueller, 6-4, 6-1; 5. Joey Burkhardt (F) def. Sergio Ramirez, 6-2, 6-0; 6. Maros Horny (B) def. Nassim Slilam, 6-4, 6-0. Order of finish: 5, 6, 3, 4, 2, 1.