Florida too much for Siena too handle in NCAA women's tennis

Florida made quick work of Siena 4-0 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships at the Ring Tennis Complex.

The Gators (13-7), the tournament's No. 11 overall seed, will play Southern Cal (12-10) at 4 p.m. Saturday in the tourney's second round. USC eliminated Oklahoma 4-3 earlier Friday.

Florida set the tone by picking up the doubles point with easy 6-1 wins by the No. 1 team of McCartney Kessler-Marlee Zein and No. 2 Layne Sleeth-Ida Jarlskog.

"I think today was a good preparation match for tomorrow and I think we are all ready to go. Especially at home," Kessler said.

The Gators didn't drop a set in singles play, as Kessler (at No. 1), Jarlskog (No. 3) and Sydney Berlin (No. 6) cruised to wins for the 4-0 team decision over MAAC champion Siena (7-4) in a match that lasted less than an hour and a half.

"We really talked about going in to today was doing a good job with our own games," UF coach Roland Thornqvist said. "Staying focused and playing clean games. Try to cut down court time in the heat and we accomplished all of that. I thought we were close to winning on all most every court by the time Sydney (Berlin) finished it for us.

"I think we have a high degree of confidence in our play, singles and doubles. Perhaps for the first time in several weeks, I think we feel really good about all facets of our game."

Men: No. 1-seeded Florida (20-2) is scheduled to host South Alabama (12-7) on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex, where the Gators look to open play in the NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament.

UF will also host Duke (12-10) and South Florida (16-9), which will play at 10 a.m. Saturday. The winners will play each other Sunday at 2 p.m. in the second round of the tournament.

Florida is 10-0 at home this season and 55-5 at home since 2017.

Both the men's and women's first and second-round competitions will feature a four-team bracket, with the winners of each pod advancing to the championship rounds at the USTA National Campus in Orlando on May 16-22.