Women’s tennis announces challenging slate which includes 11 home matches and the 2021 SEC Women’s Tennis Championship in Gainesville.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – University of Florida women’s tennis head coach Roland Thornqvist<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_coaches.aspx-3Frc-3D1347&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=gd61BUUqRRGjAhaGZpF0KvWEHdgbVyNA_62raWphv_o&s=JhzCWwzBzrrk-7GDVwYM3JsAtPXkf5b71UHQRFmV5lE&e= > unveiled the Gators’ 2021-22 schedule Friday morning, a slate that contains a challenging mix of fall tournaments and exciting spring dual matches.
The Gators are set to battle 15 teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2021 with the potential of 16 depending on how things shake out at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Tallahassee. Of its 19 finalized dual contests, 17 opponents finished in the top 75 of the final ITA rankings.
For just the third time and the first time since 2006, Florida will host the SEC Women’s Tennis Championship in Gainesville. The conference’s postseason tournament will take place April 20-24.
Following the fall portion of its schedule occurring exclusively on the road, Florida hosts 11 matches at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex during the dual match season. Old Dominion and Baylor highlight UF’s non-conference home schedule and Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina are among the notable SEC squads visiting the home of the seven-time national champion Gators.
In addition to the 11 home tilts and the conference tournament, Florida fans will have the opportunity to catch the Gators across the Sunshine State five other times throughout the season.
The Orange and Blue begin the 2021-22 slate with a weekend tournament in Chapel Hill when they compete in the UNC Invitational, Sept 24-26. North Carolina, the alma mater of Thornqvist and a locale where he spent three seasons as head coach, advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s semifinals in 2021. That same weekend, another group of Gators will compete at the NC State Invitational in nearby Raleigh.
Following their trip to the Tar Heel State, the Gators return to Florida to compete in the Bedford Cup at USF from Oct. 1-3. Next on tap is a run of ITA national events with the ITA All-American Championships in Charleston, SC and the ITA Regional Championships in Lake Nona.
The ITA National Fall Championships will take place Nov. 4-7 in San Diego, Calif.
Florida closes out the fall with the UNF Invitational in Jacksonville, a tournament slated for Nov. 12-14.
After it breaks for the semester, Florida kicks off 2022 and takes part in its final non-dual match competition at the Freeman Memorial tournament in Las Vegas from Jan. 13-17.
Jan. 22 marks Florida’s home opener and fans will have the opportunity to take in a pair of matches as it welcomes Georgia State and UNF for a twin bill in Gainesville. Just two days later, the Gators host USF on Monday, Jan. 24 to closeout their three-match home stand.
Florida then heads north to take part in the Tallahassee regional of the ITA Kickoff weekend. The Gators will compete alongside the Seminoles, FIU and Illinois from Jan. 28-31.
The month of February presents a thrilling stretch of competition with home matchups against Old Dominion (Feb. 3) and Baylor (Feb. 26), a neutral site showdown with FSU at the USTA National Campus (Feb. 5) and the ITA National Team Indoors tournament in Madison, Wis. (Feb. 11-14).
After battling Baylor at home, which finished No. 14 in the final ITA poll, Florida hits the road for its first SEC weekend with matchups at LSU and Texas A&M to open the month of March.
Florida hosts its inaugural SEC weekend in mid-March with matches against Georgia and Tennessee. The Gators battle the Bulldogs on Friday, March 11 before capping off the weekend with Tennessee on Sunday. The Gators return to the rigors of the road with matchups at Missouri and Arkansas before wrapping up the month with a home weekend against Ole Miss (March 25) and Mississippi State (March 27).
Ahead of its three-match homestand to finalize the regular season, Florida travels to Kentucky (April 1) and Vanderbilt (April 3).
The month of April is destined to be a busy month of tennis in Gainesville as the Gators host Alabama on April 8 and Auburn on April 10 before welcoming South Carolina for their regular season finale on Saturday, April 16. Just four days later, the SEC Women’s Tennis Championship will commence on Wednesday, April 20.
The Florida women’s tennis program qualified for its 33rd-straight NCAA Tennis Championships in 2021 and hosted the tournament’s first and second rounds for the 20th time in a possible 21 chances since the field expanded to 64 in 1999. The Gators have claimed seven NCAA National Championships, the second-most in the history of the sport.
The Gators return four key pieces from last year’s team and also welcome four newcomers. Florida welcomes back 2021 All-Americans McCartney Kessler<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D14474&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=gd61BUUqRRGjAhaGZpF0KvWEHdgbVyNA_62raWphv_o&s=jbaHVJTmAxhe7b8fr3U5zqvYtEilSisStcEcGA4oEVc&e= > and Marlee Zein<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D14475&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=gd61BUUqRRGjAhaGZpF0KvWEHdgbVyNA_62raWphv_o&s=3PQlimi16F95lz8dXTZDQLx2cd0YpAMCHjBIV7WL4JI&e= > and has added the services of two high-impact transfers, Emma Shelton<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D14538&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=gd61BUUqRRGjAhaGZpF0KvWEHdgbVyNA_62raWphv_o&s=_fEOVxj5xvCL1cbkwJZ4_3cqZSuLMYAlkDQLM2wDpDw&e= > (South Carolina) and Carly Briggs<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D14575&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=gd61BUUqRRGjAhaGZpF0KvWEHdgbVyNA_62raWphv_o&s=LclNKnK1aqTjhpPBA9KcGyZh7MAlnsDzn1MvEJyjo5A&e= > (Tennessee).
2021-22 Florida Women’s Tennis Schedule
DATE
OPPONENT
LOCATION
SEPTEMBER
Fri. 24 – Sun. 26
UNC Invitational
Chapel Hill, NC
Fri. 24 – Sun. 26
NC State Invitational
Raleigh, NC
OCTOBER
Fri. 1 – Sun. 3
Bedford Cup
Tampa, FL
Mon. 4 – Sun. 10
ITA All American Championships
Charleston, SC
Fri. 22 – Sun. 24
ITA Regional Championships
Lake Nona, FL
NOVEMBER
Thurs. 4 – Sun. 7
ITA National Fall Championships
San Diego, CA
Fri. 12 – Sun. 14
UNF Invitational
Jacksonville, FL
JANUARY
Thurs. 13 – Mon. 17
Freeman Memorial
Las Vegas, NV
Sat. 22
Georgia State
Gainesville, FL
Sat. 22
UNF
Gainesville, FL
Mon. 24
USF
Gainesville, FL
Fri. 28 – Sun. 30
ITA Kickoff Weekend
Tallahassee, FL
FEBRUARY
Thurs. 3
Old Dominion
Gainesville, FL
Sat. 5
vs. Florida State
Lake Nona, FL
Fri. 11 – Mon. 14
ITA National Team Indoors
Madison, WI
Sat. 26
Baylor
Gainesville, FL
MARCH
Fri. 4
at LSU*
Baton Rouge, LA
Sun. 6
at Texas A&M*
Tuscaloosa, AL
Fri. 11
Georgia*
Gainesville, FL
Sun. 13
Tennessee*
Gainesville, FL
Fri. 18
at Missouri*
Columbus, MO
Sun. 20
at Arkansas*
Fayetteville, AR
Fri. 25
Ole Miss*
Gainesville, FL
Sun. 27
Mississippi State*
Gainesville, FL
APRIL
Fri. 1
at Kentucky*
Lexington, KY
Sun. 3
at Vanderbilt*
Nashville, TN
Fri. 8
Alabama*
Gainesville, FL
Sun. 10
Auburn*
Gainesville, FL
Sat. 16
South Carolina*
Gainesville, FL
Wed. 20 – Sat. 24
SEC Tournament
Gainesville, FL
