No.1 Gator Women’s Tennis team looks to defeat No.2 Ohio State

The No.1 ranked Florida Gator Women’s Tennis team faces the No. 2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in Orlando, Florida today.

Florida is 12-0 (3-0 SEC) and coming off of a win last weekend against No.24 South Carolina (9-4, 1-2 SEC). This win was the Gators’ fourth home victory this season and extended their home-winning streak to a jaw-dropping 160.

Florida’s head coach Roland Thornqvist says this win proved the strengths of the team.

The Gators’ Competition

Ohio State is entering the match this evening with a record of 14-1 this spring and will be looking to improve on their seven-match winning streak. The team’s only loss comes from North Carolina in the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.

Thornqvist says Ohio State’s team has impressive players and that the Gators will need to be ready to compete at the beginning of the match.

Although the team as a whole has shown a lot of success this season, Ohio State has several individual athletes that have some impressive statistics. Some of these athletes include five ranked singles players including Sophomore Francesca Di Lorenzo ranked first, Senior Gabriellea De Santis at 41, and Senior Miho Kowase is No. 53. The Buckeyes also have four ranked doubles teams as well.

Di Lorenzo and Kowase also lead the team with 21 overall wins this year.

It's #1 vs. #2 for the second time! Calling all #Gator fans in Orlando – you do NOT want to miss this Tuesday!https://t.co/pzpmEuzAKm pic.twitter.com/vbUVbqMK6S

— Gator Women's Tennis (@GatorsWTN) March 14, 2017

Gator’s Talent

Florida Coach Thornqvist compares the team’s doubles play vs the team’s singles play at this point of the season.

The team has three singles players in the top 20 (Josie Kuhlman No.12, Ingrid Neel No.14, Belinda Woolcock No.19)  and two ranked doubles teams in the top 20 (Danilina/Neel No.11, Austin/Keegan No.15).

Some individual winning streaks include Brooke Austin with nine singles victories in a row, Kourtney Keegan with eight, Ingird Neel with seven and the Danilina/Neel doubles team has a five-match winning streak.

Moving Forward

The Gators play at 6:30 p.m.