Gator Great

Before Lauren Embree became a five-time All-American and back-to-back national champion at the University of Florida, she was a kid on Marco Island, learning to play tennis with her father, mother, and brother. Now she’s set to be inducted into the UF Athletic Hall of Fame as a Gator Great. 

"We played at the Marco Island Racquet Club and the Marco YMCA,” Lauren Embree said from her home in Austin. "I would say I was probably about like three or four, with a little racquetball racket. My mom and my brother would go play and I'd get a turn."

Lauren’s dad, Keith Embree, competed on the junior tennis circuit as a youth in St. Petersburg. He played college tennis at the University of Tampa.

 "My dad played tennis,” Embree said. "My older brother played tennis. He actually played at Florida State for his college career. It was a family sport. My dad had us out there every day. As we got older, we had longer sessions. And I just really enjoyed it. I enjoyed competing, I enjoyed training, I enjoyed being with my dad. He got us going. He instilled the discipline and the commitment and the hard work it takes to be good or great or whatever. So yeah, I just kind of kept with it and over time developed a skill and a love and a passion for it. And with that hard work, I got all these opportunities as a junior and as a college tennis player to just take off with it. My dad was really the driving force behind all of it."

Unfortunately, Embree's father won’t be by her side when she’s inducted in the UF Athletic Hall of Fame on October 6. He passed away suddenly after having a heart issue on the tennis court in March 2022, according to Lauren’s mother, Nancy Embree.

"He was awesome,” Lauren Embree said. “It's been a rough year, but, you know, gotta keep it moving for him.”

 “He was her coach for the first 10 years,” Nancy Embree said. “He was behind every step of her tennis.”

UF assistant athletic director Denver Parker was effusive in praising Embree’s hall-of-fame career at the school.

“Lauren ranks among the all-time elite athletes to come through the University of Florida,” Parker said. “A two-time national champion and national player of the year, Lauren’s name is all over the history books for one of the most successful teams in our athletic department. Her comeback win from 4-0 down in the third set to clinch the 2011 national championship for UF was unforgettable and one of the most clutch performances ever by a Gator in any sport.” 

Head coach Roland Thornqvist, who has won four of the University of Florida’s seven women’s tennis national championships, also holds Embree in high regard. He brought her back to coach with him in 2019.

"Her professionalism and character are exactly what we need,” Roland Thornqvist said in a press release, "and what better role model for our players than perhaps the greatest team player to ever have worn our jersey.”

Embree has nothing but gratitude for Thornqvist, who knew his former star was a lock for the Hall of Fame.

"Being close with Roland for this whole time,” Embree said, “he's always kind of said, 'Oh, you're going to be in the hall of fame one day.' And obviously, I took that with a grain of salt. There are some elite Olympian and professional athletes that go into the Hall of Fame. So to even be considered, I'm just like, 'Are you sure?’ Because I just see my college time as a group effort with my team. We really just had such good people around our environment, which is why we did so well. I was just a product of them. So I just feel like, yes, it's so cool that I get an honor like this. My career there was obviously successful, but it really was a whole group effort from our teams and our coaches and our staff. That’s what kind of made it all happen. I was just like the product of that. It's true. I don't think I would have had that success anywhere else. It just all gelled well. The culture was elite and we all got along.”

Training with her father, Embree quickly blossomed into what could probably be described as a tennis prodigy. She was the number one player in the nation in the 12-and-under, 14-and-under, 16-and-under, and 18-and-under divisions. She was the number one recruit in the nation when she signed with the Gators in 2010.

As she rose through the ranks, her dad realized it was time for Embree to leave the nest.

“As I got older, I want to say 15 or 16, my dad was like, ‘Okay, you’re good, here you go,’” Embree said. “And so I would go to Miami some, and I have a really good coach there that I talk to this day, Julie Stevens. She really kind of took over. I started getting a lot better, and my dad wanted more opportunities for me. I finally asked my dad to go over there full-time my senior year. So I finished the tail end of my senior year of high school online. She just really helped progress my game. She was very responsible for my tennis career as well as my dad. Between the two of them. Otherwise, I don't think it would have happened."

As the top-ranked 18-year-old in the nation, Embree could have played anywhere. Professional tennis was an option. 

"The 16-and-under and the 18-and-under is really where it kind of matters from a progression standpoint,” Embree said, "like opportunities, colleges, pro tournaments, all those things. I was just very competitive. I just really loved it. So I ran with that, and I got some cool opportunities. I played in the French Open right before college. I got a really good opportunity to play in this wild card tournament with all the American girls. I ended up winning that tournament. And whoever wins that tournament gets a wild card into the French Open.”

"My whole family flew over there,” Embree continues. “It was a fun two weeks because that was a very cool opportunity for me. I just tried to soak it all in. I knew I was going to school in a month, so I didn't have that much pressure. I had the University of Florida to look forward to. And I knew that I wanted to do that and do that whole professional tour life. I just wanted to go to college first, and that was a big decision. Going to college before turning pro wasn't as encouraged back then."

But education was important in the Embree family. Her mother, Nancy, was a career educator before retiring from Lely High School in 2018.

“My parents were very educational,” Embree said. "They believed in having a degree in case anything were to happen. They are very smart. And I'm very glad that they pushed school, not that they had to push because I always wanted to go. I wanted to experience college, playing for something bigger than yourself, being on a team, and just enjoying college as a normal student athlete."

Embree is glad she went to college instead of going straight to the pro tour.

"I don't know if I would have been successful or not,” she said. "I probably would have gotten really burnt out. And, you know, I was in the same spot at 22 as I was at 18. I just had all this other great experience by going the college route. Everybody's different. Some people have a lot of success if they don't go to school. That was my path.”

Embree immediately fell in love with the University of Florida.

"Florida was my first visit. I had a really good feeling with the coaches and the team. It was everything that I wanted. I did take a few other visits just to compare, but it was a pretty easy decision for me, just as far as my gut feeling. I knew I would be happy. It was one of the greatest chapters of my life, for sure.”

Florida was a Top Five women’s tennis program when Embree arrived as a freshman. She was immediately inserted into the number one singles position. She knew that the Gators had a chance to compete for a national championship.

“It was me and another girl in my class who were the top recruits,” Embree said, "So I knew that we would have a chance. I wanted to be on a team that not only had a good culture but a chance to win a national championship and was very elite. Florida was all of that. It was the aura about Florida and the standard that they hold you to. It's just an elite-level place. That's really what made me gravitate towards it. I had the greatest team, and now I realize that's rare. You don't always find such a team that really builds a strong culture and chemistry. And my coaches were great, and so were the resources we had. It was such a good group of people, and it was just a good time.”

Embree’s performance to secure the 2011 national championship in her sophomore season is arguably the most iconic moment in the history of the UF women’s tennis program. Florida was playing Stanford, who had defeated them in the Final Four the year before. Florida’s seven national titles are second in NCAA history to Stanford, who sits at the top of the heap with 20 national titles.

“That was the match that came down to me,” Embree recalls. “We were at Stanford playing Stanford. They had just beaten us the year before. I was down 4-0 in the third set. On top of all of that, we were down 3-1 in matches. So people don't really know that story. The other two girls had to win their matches for me to even have a chance. And one of my teammates won 7-6 in the third. If she lost that match, then we lose. So yeah, mine got the attention, but the two matches that were playing down at five and six needed to win, too. They finished before me, and they ended up winning. If we don't win them, then I don't finish. So by them winning, then all eyes were on me because I was the last one, and I was down 4-0 in the third and somehow rallied back.”

Two games from defeat, Embree put together a comeback for the ages.

"I was so in a different focus mode,” she said. "I just knew that if I got that game at 4-0, then I had a chance. So that's really what I was focused on. Then I just had this feeling that with the belief that my team had in me and that I had in myself, that I could still do it. Like it was possible. So as I started to get closer, I was like, ‘Okay, I got it.' Or at least I was telling myself that.”

Somehow Embree didn’t feel nervous.

"I don’t even remember being nervous because you're in such a different zone of focus. That's taking all of your concentration. I was really focused on just trying to win the next point and then win the next point and then win the next point and not really focus on all the other outside stuff that was actually going on."

Easier said than done. But she did it. At a certain point, she saw that her opponent was feeling the pressure of being come back on.

“She had a different game style than me,” Embree said, "she hit the ball really hard. She played really aggressive. So I knew that if I could keep it close that maybe she'd make some more errors or feel a little bit tighter and not feel as loose to, like, go for broke. And I think that's kind of what happened. She got a little tight and then, because of her game style, maybe made a few more errors. Then I forced a few more errors, and I got the momentum back on my side. But again, I was really focused on the game plan that my coaches were telling me. I just feel like I couldn't focus on anything else or I would lose it. I don't really remember specifics, but it was like really just focusing on the things that I was really good at, like competing and fighting. There was definitely a side that I was trying to play that was breaking down. So I remember doing that. I knew what was at stake, so I was going to fight and compete the best I could. I wasn't really locked in on the score per se. I just kept competing until it was actually over.”

Embree finally prevailed when her opponent missed a forehand.

"I just remember her hitting that forehand out and me throwing my racket in the air and looking over to my teammates and them just coming to embrace me in a celebration. I don't really remember, like, oh, my gosh, this is match point. I need to win this again. It was like, This is another point. Let's just keep going. And then when it was over, I was like, 'Thank God that's over.'”

Embree could have been tempted to turn pro after winning the national championship, but that never really crossed her mind. She was having too much fun right where she was.

"If I won the individual tournament,” she said, "then maybe I would think about it. I made the Final Four that year, and that was the best I did in the individual tournament. But I was so enjoying my life that I didn't really want to run from something that I was loving so much. I knew the pro tour was always going to be there for me, and college is not. I wanted to ride out this experience as long as I could. I was just so happy with what I was doing.”

The Gators beat UCLA in 2012 to secure back-to-back championships.

"We repeated with the same team,” Embree said. "We clinched against UCLA in the finals. Not as drama-filled, but definitely exciting to win back-to-back because that's very rare and hard to do. Coming off such a good year to repeat it, I felt like we were all really connected as a team. So that was fun.” 

Embree had a teammate leave early to turn pro after the 2012 season.

“We were kind of like scrambling,” she said. “We didn't have the same team. Our expectation was a little bit lower because we just weren't projected to do as well. We actually made the Final Four, losing to Stanford. So we had a really good year my senior year as well. On paper, that's a really good year. But for us, we wanted to repeat. Of course, initially we were disappointed. But in hindsight, we had a good run. I have all happy memories."

Embree finished with a spotless 34-0 record in SEC play. She was National Player of the Year twice. She is the first and only player in history to be SEC Player of the Year three times. She is also the only freshman to win the award.

After college, Embree turned pro and had a solid three-and-a-half-year career, with 92 singles wins and 60 career doubles wins. She reached a career-high ranking of 232 in singles and 238 in doubles. 

"I moved out to LA and turned pro,” Embree said. “I worked with a coach there. Her name was Laura Gordon. She traveled with me full-time. We had the best time. I really enjoyed my time as a pro. I got to travel the world. I played in some bigger tournaments. I learned a lot, but I just wanted a more stable life and something a little bit different. So I made the hard decision to just stop. Nothing bad about it at all. Just a little tougher because it's just a different lifestyle and a different world out there. It's definitely different than college. You don't have as much support, as much love, and things are not as convenient. But I think from a growth standpoint, I continued to do that and elevate my career and my game. And I was really pleased with how I approached the pro tour.”

Embree was an assistant coach at Pepperdine for two before returning to UF in 2019. She recently moved to Austin, where she has embarked on a new career as a nutritionist and exercise physiologist at a wellness retreat.

“I’m loving it,” Embree said of her new career. “After tennis, fitness and health and wellness is my passion.”

As far as Marco Island goes, Embree cherishes her memories of growing up on the island.

"I miss Marco,” she said. "I think it was a great place to grow up. That's all I knew. I feel very lucky that I am from there because it's such a beautiful place, a tropical place that people go on vacation, and I lived there. I have great memories. Obviously, with my dad as well. I went to Tommie Barfield, the middle school, and then went to Lely. I treasure those memories. They are important. I just loved growing up there."