Mississippi State
Florida
No. 22 MSU Women?s Tennis Falls To No. 13 Florida
March 20, 2016 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – To close out the weekend, the 22nd-ranked Mississippi State women's tennis team (11-4, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) dropped a 4-0 decision to No. 13 Florida (11-2, 6-0 SEC) Sunday at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
Florida got off to a fast start in doubles. MSU's tandem of No. 34 Madison Harrison and Georgiana Patrasc fell 6-0 on court one to the seventh-ranked UF duo Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan. The Gators clinched the doubles point at the No. 3 position, as the 58th-ranked pair of Anna Danilina and Brianna Morgan downed State's duo of Anastasia Rentouli and Kristina Vozniak 6-1 to give Florida a 1-0 lead. The remaining match between MSU's No. 43 pair of Jasmine Lee and Louise Ronaldson and UF's duo of No. 22 Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock was suspended at 4-3 with the Gators leading.
In singles, Florida did not relinquish its momentum, claiming five of the six first sets. The Gators' 15th-ranked Austin upset State's ninth-ranked Lee 6-2, 6-2 at the top spot for a 2-0 lead. Florida followed up with another straight set win as No. 81 Danilina ousted MSU's Vozniak 6-2, 6-4 on court five to extend the lead to 3-0.
The Gators clinched the match when Spencer Liang defeated completed a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Bulldog Jennifer Brown at the No. 6 position to make the final score 4-0.
The remaining courts were suspended with the Gators holding leads on all three. On court two, State's No. 86 Georgiana Patrasc had pushed UF's No. 5 Belinda Woolcock to three sets but trailed 4-6, 6-2, 1-0. At the No. 3 position, Bulldog Madison Harrison had bounced back to lead 3-1 in the second set after dropping a close tiebreak to the Gators' No. 121 Brianna Morgan 7-6(5) in the first set. Florida's No. 108 Josie Kuhlman held a 7-5, 3-2 lead over MSU's No. 51 Anastasia Rentouli on court 4.
“We were outplayed by a strong Florida team today,” head coach Daryl Greenan said. “They jumped on us early in doubles and it just took us too long to get anything going. I thought we rebounded well in singles and made it a match, but we just didn't manage to raise our level of play enough for the upset. We didn't get the wins this weekend, but there were some highlights and progress. The SEC is tough but we are in the mix and felt like we will pick up more wins and continue to improve moving into late season and post season play.”
MSU hits the road to continue conference play this week at 15th-ranked Auburn on Thursday, March 24, at 2 p.m. CT and at No. 43 Alabama on Saturday, March 26, at 1 p.m. CT.
For more information on Mississippi State women's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and HailStateWT.
No. 13 Florida 4, No. 22 Mississippi State 0
March 20, 2016 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
Order of match finish…1,3
1. No. 7 Brooke Austin/Kourtney Keegan (UF) def. No. 34 Madison Harrison/Georgiana Patrasc (MSU) 6-0
2. No. 22 Josie Kuhlman/Belinda Woolcock (UF) vs. No. 43 Jasmine Lee/Louise Ronaldson (MSU) 4-3 (susp.)
3. No. 58 Anna Danilina/Brianna Morgan (UF) def. Anastasia Rentouli/Kristina Vozniak (MSU) 6-1
Singles
Order of match finish…1,5,6
1. No. 15 Brooke Austin (UF) def. No. 9 Jasmine Lee (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 5 Belinda Woolcock (UF) vs. No. 86 Georgiana Patrasc (MSU) 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (susp.)
3. No. 121 Brianna Morgan (UF) vs. Madison Harrison (MSU) 7-6(5), 1-3 (susp.)
4. No. 108 Josie Kuhlman (UF) vs. No. 51 Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) 7-5, 3-2 (susp.)
5. No. 81 Anna Danilina (UF) def. Kristina Vozniak (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Spencer Liang (UF) def. Jennifer Brown (MSU) 6-3, 6-3
