GAINESVILLE - For the first time since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1999, the No.1 women's seed was ousted in the second round.
More than 500 fans at Linder Stadium at the Ring Tennis Complex watched Saturday as Florida lost its first match this season, 4-3 to Miami.
After dropping the doubles point, the defending national champions needed four singles victories to advance. The outcome came down to the match between UF senior Lindsay Dawaf and UM freshman Audrey Banada.
Dawaf lost the first set but rallied in the second. She could not hold off Banada, who clinched 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.
"When it comes down to a close match and you're in the final match, you just want to give it your all," Dawaf said. "I didn't feel like I was completely out of shape in the end. She just fought a little harder and got one more ball back than me."
The Hurricanes, who last beat the Gators in 1986, advanced to the round of 16 Saturday in Athens, Ga. UM coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said the time was right for her team to pull off the upset.
"A team like Florida gets up a lot on other teams just by intimidation - the way they walk and the way they present themselves," Yaroshuk-Tews said. "And we've had enough of it. We've had enough of walking in here and being the ones walking out with our heads down."
It is the first time in 17 years that UF has not advanced to the quarterfinals. The Gators also had reached the semifinals 16 of the past 17 years.
Earlier, the No.7 Gator men beat Central Florida 4-0 in the first round. UF coach Andy Jackson said he wished he had been more pleased with his team's effort.
"(The match) was clearly closer than 4-0," Jackson said. "Central Florida, I know, feels slighted that it was 4-0, and they have a right to feel that way because it was closer than that."
After securing the doubles point, the Gators won three singles matches to clinch the victory.
UF faces Arizona in today's second round. The Wildcats beat Florida State 4-3.
