Fourth-ranked Florida was too much to handle for No. 11 Duke Saturday as the Gators (8-0) beat the Blue Devils (3-2) 6-1 at Linder Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.
"Florida was mentally tougher than we were," head coach Jamie Ashworth said. "We had opportunities in a few matches and in doubles, and when it came down to big points, they played them better than we did. That's something we have to improve on."
The duo of senior Daniela Bercek and sophomore Melissa Mang bested 20th-ranked Whitney Benik and Nina Suvak 8-6, improving the doubles pair to 4-0 on the season. But their teammates lost two matches, handing Florida the doubles point. Freshman Amanda Granson and senior Tory Zawacki fell to Csilla Borsanyi and Anastasia Revzina 8-3, and freshman Elizabeth Plotkin and sophomore Jessi Robinson lost to 39th-ranked Megan Alexander and Diana Srebrovic, 8-3.
Mang continued her streak in singles action, as she outplayed 24th-ranked Alexander 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 to tuck away her fourth straight win on the season.
Ashworth said the match was a mental victory for Mang, who has struggled against Alexander in the past.
"Melissa has been playing well the past few weeks and the more matches she plays, the better she gets," Ashworth said. "She was really pleased with being able to come out on top."
But Duke's effort was not enough to take the match, as Florida put up five straight singles victories for the 6-1 win.
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