Sunday, April 9
Gainesville, FL
1 PM
Florida Gators
vs
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Mississippi State
Kourtney Keegan is one of three seniors who will be playing their final regular-season home match Sunday.
Gators host #16 Mississippi State in Regular-Season Home Finale
Saturday, April 8, 2017 | Women's Tennis
Florida also will honor its three outstanding seniors in a pre-match ceremony.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Top-ranked Florida plays its final regular-season home match Sunday and it is a meaningful match in so many ways.
Not only do the Gators play host to 16th-ranked Mississippi State beginning at 1 p.m. at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex, but the team remains in the middle of the hunt for the Southeastern Conference championship.
Florida also will honor its three outstanding seniors in a pre-match ceremony.
The Amazing SEC Race
Senior Salute – at a Glance!
Did You Know? - Senior Class Edition
Florida vs. Mississippi State: The Series
UF Head Coach Roland Thornqvist on the Gator seniors:
"These three players have not just graced us with a lot of wins, but professionalism – the human side to all three of them is something that we will miss greatly. They've been great leaders, great in the locker room, great in the community, great with the student body here and the student-athlete community. There are always in great moods and showing the youngsters how to practice – I can go on and on about them.
"The emotional part isn't the wins and losses the you lose. It's the people – it's who these three seniors are. They've been amazing in winning and losing. In fact, one of our umpires told us the other day that when Kourtney (Keegan) lost to Georgia in the deciding match that ended our long home win streak that he said he had never seen anyone lose with more grace. Those are words as a coach that you just love hearing. I think that goes for all three of them.
"Spencer (Liang) hasn't played as much as the other two have lately, but she's handled it with professionalism and she's always ready and has a great attitude.
"Belinda's playing the one singles position this year. That's just a Cinderella story.
"Kourtney is leaving with at least one national championship – the NCAA Doubles Championship. What a senior class! They've done so much for us and Sunday is going to be bitter sweet."
Match Day at a Glance
Gator Pronunciations for this release
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Not only do the Gators play host to 16th-ranked Mississippi State beginning at 1 p.m. at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex, but the team remains in the middle of the hunt for the Southeastern Conference championship.
Florida also will honor its three outstanding seniors in a pre-match ceremony.
The Amazing SEC Race
- With three regular-season matches remaining, there is a three-team logjam atop the SEC standings, with the Gators, Georgia and Vanderbilt all sporting a 9-1 SEC record
- Florida's only SEC loss was to Georgia, which lost to Vanderbilt, which lost at Kentucky.
- The Gators will end its regular season playing at No. 11 Kentucky (April 14) and at No. 7 Vanderbilt (April 16).
- Vanderbilt's remaining SEC schedule: at LSU, host South Carolina, host Florida
- Georgia's remaining SEC schedule: at Missouri, host LSU, host Texas A&M
Senior Salute – at a Glance!
- The Gators will honor their three seniors - Kourtney Keegan, Spencer Liang and Belinda Woolcock - in a pre-match ceremony.
- Team Championships: 2015 & 2016 SEC Regular Season champions, 2016 SEC Tournament champions, 2017 National Team Indoor champions
- Combined Singles Wins: 284
- Combined Doubles Wins: 255
- All three will receive their respective bachelors' degrees at the end of this semester: Kourtney in Sport Management, Spencer in Finance and Belinda in Sport Management
Did You Know? - Senior Class Edition
- Kourtney is this year's President of the University of Florida's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is a two-time recipient of the ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Sportsmanship and Leadership Award.
- Spencer transferred to UF from Harvard, where she played the No. 1 singles and doubles position because she "felt she was always meant to be a Gator."
- Of the 478 Gator student-athletes on a 2016-17 roster, Belinda is the furthest from home – having to travel 9,683 miles from her family in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia to be a part of our Gator family.
Florida vs. Mississippi State: The Series
- 37-Match Series: UF leads 37-0 (UF at home: 17-0; Away: 19-0; Neutral: 1-0)
- Last Year: The Gators claimed the 4-0 win in Starkville on March 20, 2016
UF Head Coach Roland Thornqvist on the Gator seniors:
"These three players have not just graced us with a lot of wins, but professionalism – the human side to all three of them is something that we will miss greatly. They've been great leaders, great in the locker room, great in the community, great with the student body here and the student-athlete community. There are always in great moods and showing the youngsters how to practice – I can go on and on about them.
"The emotional part isn't the wins and losses the you lose. It's the people – it's who these three seniors are. They've been amazing in winning and losing. In fact, one of our umpires told us the other day that when Kourtney (Keegan) lost to Georgia in the deciding match that ended our long home win streak that he said he had never seen anyone lose with more grace. Those are words as a coach that you just love hearing. I think that goes for all three of them.
"Spencer (Liang) hasn't played as much as the other two have lately, but she's handled it with professionalism and she's always ready and has a great attitude.
"Belinda's playing the one singles position this year. That's just a Cinderella story.
"Kourtney is leaving with at least one national championship – the NCAA Doubles Championship. What a senior class! They've done so much for us and Sunday is going to be bitter sweet."
Match Day at a Glance
- Who: No. 16 Mississippi State at No. 1 Florida
- When: Sunday, April 9 * 1 p.m.
- Where: Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
- Admission: FREE!
- Live Online Video & Stats Link: http://bit.ly/2nmMaqY
- Also of Note: Florida's three seniors will be honored in a pre-match ceremony
Gator Pronunciations for this release
- Anna Danilina: ON-nah don-uh-LEE-nah
- Josie Kuhlman: COOL-mun
- Spencer Liang: LEE-aang
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube |
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
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Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
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/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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