Entering Saturday’s semifinal match-up against fifth-ranked Florida, women’s tennis head coach Geoff MacDonald knew what his team was up against.
“Florida is a great team. They have a storied program. We've had a couple of wins over them but they've come out on top more often than we have,” MscDonald said.
Florida (20-2, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) certainly lived up to the expectations on Friday, securing a 4-2 win over the 12th-ranked Commodores (18-5, 7-4 SEC) at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Ala.
The Gators jumped ahead of Vanderbilt early after garnering the doubles point. Julia Cohen and Anastasia Revzina of Florida defeated senior Taka Bertrand and freshman Keilly Ulery 8-3 in the third doubles position. The duo of Whitney Benik and Csilla Borsany followed suit, handing Vanderbilt's senior Caroline Ferrell and sophomore Catherine Newman an 8-3 loss at No. 2 doubles.
Marrit Boonstra churned out another point for the Gators after taking care of No. 62 Courtney Ulery in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2.
Vanderbilt was then able to tie the match score at two apiece after wins by No. 23 senior Amanda Taylor and No. 118 Bertrand. Taylor wiped the floor with SEC Freshman of the Year Julia Cohen, 6-2, 6-0, at the No. 1 singles position. The straight-set win boosted Taylor’s winning streak to eight and her dual match record to 19-4.
Bertrand was not to be outdone, defeating Benik 6-3, 6-2, to improve her record to 20-3 in dual match play.
Despite the temporary Commodore resurgence, the Gators would clinch the match and a berth into the championship final after straight-set wins at the sixth and second singles positions. Ferrell fell to UF’s Lolita Frangulyan, 2-6, 7-5, at the sixth spot, and No. 46 Newman was defeated by No. 33 Borsany 3-6, 4-6, at No. 2.
The Gators continued their win-streak against SEC teams with the victory over Vanderbilt and added another win to a nearly unblemished record. They are now a perfect 9-0 against the Commodores when the two have met in the SEC tournament. UF, however, would eventually fall Sunday afternoon to No. 8 Georgia in the finals after a tightly contested 3-4 decision.
The Commodores will learn of their first-round opponent in the NCAA tournament on April 29. Tournament play is slated to begin May 10.
