By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
The Bulls gave the Gators a battle but failed to stop Florida from winning its 98th consecutive home match Tuesday in Gainesville.
Ecaterina Vasenina and Lucie Rey both pushed their singles opponents to three sets in a 7-0 loss to the No. 1 Gators at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. Every one of Florida's top five in singles are ranked No. 41 or better in the nation.
"This is just a very tough team and we gave them a big fight," USF head coach Agustin Moreno said. "We played well. We competed well, we just came up short."
Vasenina, playing in the No. 1 singles position, took Florida's Lauren Embree to a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 decision. Rey took the first set from Olivia Janowicz, but fell, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, in the No. 6 singles slot. Janowicz has won 21 consecutive singles dual matches for the Gators (4-0).
Tuesday marked the second straight match that USF has played a team that's in the top 15. The Bulls lost, 5-2, at No. 11 Miami on Sunday. Despite the defeats, Moreno likes what he sees out of his team that is gaining confidence for the stretch run of the season.
"There are a lot of teams that are really tough and we are one of them," he said. "When we play other ranked opponents we are going to be much better because we played the No. 1 team in the country."
Singles
Lauren Embree (UF) def. Ecaterina Vasenina, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
Allie Will (UF) def. Loreto Alonso Martinez, 6-1, 6-3
Joanna Mather (UF) def. Danielle Mills, 6-1, 6-0
Alexandra Cercone (UF) def. Fanny Fracassi, 7-6 (4), 6-0
Sofie Oyen (UF) def. Alessandra Bonte, 6-4, 6-1
Olivia Janowicz (UF) def. Lucie Rey, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
Will/Oyen (UF) def. Vasenina/Alonso Martinez, 8-3
Embree/Mather (UF) def. Fracassi/Rey, 8-0
Cercone/Caroline Hitimana def. Mills/Paula Montoya, 8-4
