Kessler helps Gators to upset win

– Florida upset No. 5 South Carolina in a thrilling 4-2 decision at the Carolina Tennis Center on a rain-plagued Saturday afternoon, when the Gators moved into a tie with the Gamecocks and Vanderbilt atop the Southeastern Conference standings with two matches remaining.

The start time of the match moved from 1 p.m. to 8 a.m. with the hopes of finishing the match before the forecasted rain hit the Columbia area. The head coaches from both teams even agreed to start action with singles play instead of doubles to facilitate that effort.

Mother Nature, however, won that battle and with the team score knotted at 2-all, the sky unloaded and forced a four-hour delay.

After the lengthy rain delay, Josie Kuhlman and former Calhoun High stand- out McCartney Kessler returned to their respective courts with both midway through the third set.

The unranked Kessler was even with 31stranked Hadley Berg on court three – 5-7, 7-6 (2), 3-3 and the game score at 15-15.

Kuhlman was at 7-5, 5-7, 2-1, down 30-15 to Mia Horvit.

The freshman Kessler was the first off the court, winning the final three games and prevailed, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, to give the Gators a 3-2 lead. For Kessler, the win was her team-leading 14th in dual match play, as she improved to 9-1 in SEC action.

All eyes then turned to Kuhlman, who had not been able to record a decision in Florida’s last six matches since play was abandoned after the dual matches had been clinched.

The Gator senior rose to the challenge and with the pressure and all attention on her, Kuhlman netted a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 victory to secure the important win for Florida and hand the Gamecocks their first SEC loss of the season. It was the fourth time this year Kuhlman provided the clinching dual match victory.

Quotes from the Court – UF Coach Roland Thornqvist: “This team is unbelievable! They just will not go away. This South Carolina team has incredible ball tolerance and that’s something we talked about going into the match. We just had to be resilient and handle some swings.

“I really liked how measured we were on offense and didn’t try to over hit when the opportunity presented itself. That was true on many courts. At the same time, we were willing to take the opportunity to be offensive, rather than fall in that hesitant trap that sometimes can happen when you get that same high over and over.

“For a young team, I thought our young freshmen did really well. Obviously, Josie (Kuhlman) with another clincher. She’s had a bunch of those this year – especially in the last month and a half.

“I’m just so proud of this team.

“McCartney Kessler is a baller! She’s going to be a star.”