Roland Thornqvist Head Coach 2011 ITA National Coach of the Year 2010 & 2012 ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year 2004, 2006, 2010 & 2013 SEC Coach of the Year (2012-13 was 12th Year at UF; 17th overall) There hasn’t been much the Florida women’s tennis team hasn’t accom- 4-3. The Gators won a share of the the Southeastern Conference regular plished. But Roland Thornqvist, who completed in 2012-13 his 12th year season title and captured the SEC Tournament championship during the as head coach of the Gators, continued to find a way to raise the standard year. of success in Gainesville. Sofie Oyen and Lauren Embree both sat atop the ITA National Singles Thornqvist owns a remarkable 377-84 head coaching record in 17 years, Rankings during the 2012-13, becoming the 10th and 11th Gators since including a 302-34 mark at Florida. His 300th victory with the Gators the 1998 season to earn the No. 1 singles ranking. Oyen and Embree are came on May 12, 2013, with the 4-0 decision against Georgia Tech in the sixth and seventh different players, respectively, under Thornqvist to the second round of the 2013 NCAA Championships. Thornqvist’s 350th earn the nation’s top ranking. all-time win, as well as the 275th of his Gator tenure was the 4-3 thriller in the 2012 NCAA Semifinals against Duke en route to the winning his third Embree also became the first player in SEC history to be voted the national championship. league’s Player of the Year three times, doing so in 2010, 2012 and 2013. The talented Gator also became the 20th different Gator to capture a col- Individually, Thornqvist has been honored as the ITA National Coach of the legiate Grand Slam title when she won the 2012 Riviera/ITA All-American Year (2011), the ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year (2010 & 2012) Singles Championship. and the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year (2004, 2006, 2010 & 2013). Allie Will, who earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2012 NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships reached the semifinals of the singles event, cap- The team and individual accomplishments under Thornqvist’s guidance tured the 2011 Riviera/ITA All-American Singles Championship during the continue to grow with every season. fall in addition to a runner-up finish with then-sophomore Sofie Oyen in the doubles draw of the national tournament. Joanna Mather, the lone senior In 12 years with Thornqvist on the sidelines, some of Florida’s more sig- on the 2011-12 roster, reached the finals of the 2011 USTA-ITA National nificant highlights include three NCAA Team Championships (2003, 2011 Indoor Championships, while junior Lauren Embree and Mather won the & 2012), as well as nine SEC regular-season titles (2003, 2004, 2006, consolation draw of the 2011 Riviera/ITA All-American Doubles Champion- 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013) and nine SEC Tournament crowns ships. (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013). The 2011-12 Gators capped their 27-1 record winning the 2012 NCAA He has guided Florida to nine NCAA ‘final four’ appearances, with three Championship, earning the program’s sixth national championship and the culminating in titles and two as national runner-up (2002 & 2010). first time the team has won back-to-back titles - only the second team in NCAA Women’s Tennis history to do so. Florida earned the No. 2 overall In the classroom, eight of his Gator squads have earned ITA All-Academic seed in the 64-team event for the second consecutive year after winning Team honors by compiling a minimum cumulative team grade point aver- the Southeastern Tournament for the third straight season and netting an age of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale). 11-0 record en route to claiming the league’s regular-season crown. The 2012-13 Gators finished the season ranked No. 2 in the final national The 2011-12 team was able to produce the program’s 22nd undefeated poll after compiling a 26-3 overall record and advancing to the semifinals home record (12-0) and extend its overall home winning streak to 107 – of the NCAA Championships, bowing out to eventual champion Stanford, the longest run by an NCAA Division I women’s team in any sport. The 2010-11 season culminated with the program’s Thornqvist Year-by-Year Head Coaching Record fifth NCAA championship, as the squad defeated top-seeded Stanford, 4-3, after sophomore Lauren Year School Overall Pct. Conference Finish SEC Tourn, NCAA Finish Rank Embree provided the remarkable 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6) 1997 Kansas 15-14 .517 10-3 2nd -- Second Round No. 33 clinching singles win, rallying from down 4-0 in the 1998 Kansas 18-6 .750 9-2 2nd -- Round of 16 No. 17 third set. Embree’s heroics were made possible after 1999 UNC 16-9 .640 3-5 4th -- Second Round No. 29 freshmen Olivia Janowicz and Alexandra Cercone 2000 UNC 10-14 .417 2-6 8th -- First Round No. 42 won their respective singles matches in three sets 2001 UNC 16-7 .701 6-2 3rd -- Second Round No. 17 and the Gators captured the doubles point to being 2002 Florida 24-2 .923 10-1 2nd Champions Finalist No. 2 the match. 2003 Florida 31-2 .939 10-1 1st Champions Champions No. 1 2004 Florida 23-1 .958 11-0 1st Champions Second Round No. 3 Thornqvist was recognized by his peers, who voted 2005 Florida 22-3 .888 9-2 t-2nd Champions Semifinalist No. 2 him the 2011 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) 2006 Florida 25-2 .926 11-0 1st Champions Semifinalist No. 2 National Coach of the Year, the first such honor in his career. 2007 Florida 24-3 .889 10-1 t-1st Finalist Quarterfinalist No. 6 2008 Florida 24-3 .889 11-0 1st Finalist Semifinalist No. 5 Florida ended the 2010-11 season with a 31-1 record, 2009 Florida 16-10 .615 7-4 4th Semifinalist Round of 16 No. 14 marking the program’s seventh 30-win campaign, 2010 Florida 29-3 .906 11-0 1st Champions Finalist No. 2 and on a 21-match winning streak - a run tied for the 2011 Florida 31-1 .964 11-0 1st Champions Champions No. 1 10th longest in school history. 2012 Florida 27-1 .958 11-0 1st Champions Champions No. 1 2013 Florida 26-3 .897 12-1 t-1st Champions Semifinalist No. 2 Florida earned the No. 2 overall seed in the 64-team Career 17 yrs 377-84 .818 154-28 (.846) 3 NCAA Titles NCAA event after winning the SEC Tournament Florida 12 yrs 302-34 .899 124-10 (.925) and netting an 11-0 record en route to claiming the Kansas 2 yrs 33-20 .622 19-5 league’s regular-season crown. UNC 3 yrs 42-30 .583 11-13 Fairly typical accomplishments for one of the nation’s 2012-13 Florida Gator Bios (as of June 6, 2013) Thornqvist (continued) The Roland Thornqvist File best programs, however, Thornqvist’s bunch did this without a senior on Birthdate: March 3, 1970 its roster. Joanna Mather was the only healthy junior in a lineup that also Height: 6-foot-6 included three sophomores and three freshmen. Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden Education: Bachelor of Arts - Economics, University of North Carolina, The 2011 squad also kept its focus in the classroom, where eight of the 1996 nine roster members were named to either the SEC Academic Honor Overall Head Coaching Record: 377-84 (17 years) Roll or the SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll. As a team, the Gators Record at Florida: 302-34 (12 years) combined for a 3.43 GPA - good for recognition to the 2011 ITA Team SEC Record: 124-10 (.925) Academic All American honor. Date of UF Hire: June 22, 2001 The young Gators carried the program’s tradition of success throughout Coaching Career: the season, advancing to the final of the ITA National Team Indoor Cham- pionships. Sophomore Allie Will, who went on to be named the 2011 SEC Women’s Tennis Head Coach, University of Kansas, 1997-98 (two Player of the Year, paired with freshman Sofie Oyen and won the USTA- seasons) ITA National Indoor Doubles Championship, as they became the third dif- Women’s Tennis Head Coach, University of North Carolina, 1999-2001 ferent Gator tandem to win the USTA-ITA National Indoor Championships (three seasons) doubles title, joining the teams of Nicole Arendt and Jillian Alexander, Women’s Tennis Head Coach, University of Florida, 2002-present (12 which won the 1991 crown, and Dawn Buth and Stephanie NIckitas, which seasons) captured the 1996 championship. Coaching Highlights: Oyen and Will were the 18th and 19th different Gators to win an individual * 2003, 2011 & 2012 NCAA Champions Grand Slam title, as they produced the 24th championship trophy in the * 2002 & 2010 NCAA Finalist illustrious history of the Florida program. * 2005, 2006, 2008 & 2013 NCAA Semifinalists * 2007 NCAA Quarterfinalists Thornqvist welcomed the No. 1-ranked recruiting class to the court for the * 1998 & 2009 NCAA Round of 16 2009-10 season, which proved to be another exciting one in Gainesville. * 17 consecutive NCAA team appearances (1997-2013) * 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013 SEC Regular Then-rookies Lauren Embree and Allie Will controlled the top two positions in the singles and doubles dual match lineup and helped Florida compile a Season Champions 29-3 overall record, including a perfect 11-0 mark in Southeastern Confer- * 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013 SEC Tourna- ence action, as the Gators won the regular season and tournament titles.