Florida Women’s Tennis Season Ends at NCAA quarterfinals

The third time was not the charm for the Florida women’s tennis team when it came to taking on Vanderbilt. The Gators fell to the Commodores 4-3 on Sunday, ending their run to the NCAA title in the quarterfinals. The critical doubles point was decided after heated matches. Court three fell early, 8-1. Court one tied it up with an 8-5 victory. The real tension started when Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock sent their match into a tiebreak. Florida took the early lead 5-3, but Vanderbilt came back to go up 6-5. The pairs traded points until the Commodores went ahead 10-8 and won the doubles point. Despite losing the doubles point, the Gators started strong in singles play jumping to an early 3-1 lead. With only needing one more match win and three more matches in play, the odds seemed to be bright. Brianna Morgan put up a fight but dropped her match, 6-2 and 6-4, cutting the lead to

one point. Peggy Porter and Kuhlman both went into a third set, but came up short after trading games, with Vanderbilt clinching the win after Kuhlman’s match. However, the season isn’t over for some Gators, with four individuals qualifying for NCAA singles play and two for doubles. Brooke Austin, Kuhlman, Kourtney Keegan, and Morgan will participate in singles action. Austin and Keegan will compete as a pair in the doubles competition. Woolcock is listed as an alternate for singles.