The Gators defeated Tennessee 5-2 on Sunday afternoon with all five of their points coming from the singles category. Florida now moves to a 6-7 (2-2 SEC) record as they head into weekend three of conference play.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 18 Florida women’s tennis team defeated the No. 16 Tennessee Lady Vols Sunday afternoon at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. The 5-2 upset comes after the Gators nearly swept in Singles, winning the top five courts.
Tennessee took the initial lead of the match after claiming the doubles point over Florida. Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16142> and Bente Spee<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/bente-spee/16144> were challenged by No. 51 Esther Adeshina and Alana Wolfberg falling 6-1 on court two. Florida’s number one doubles pair, Malwina Rowinska<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/malwina-rowinska/16397> and Qaivia Lopez also came up short to the Vols, losing 6-3 to No. 57 Elza Tomase and Sofia Cabezas. Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> and Rachel Gailis'<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> match was left unfinished against Catherine Aulia and Lauren Anzalotta. The third court score stood at 5-4 with Tennessee ahead by one before doubles play closed out and the Vols took a 1-0 advantage heading into singles.
Florida tied up the score at one all after freshman Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> secured a 6-0, 6-4 win over Esther Adeshina. Tennessee quickly regained the lead off a court six victory with Malwina Rowinska<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/malwina-rowinska/16397> falling 6-3, 6-2 to Lauren Anzalotta. Up next was a major win from Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> defeating Alana Wolfberg 6-2, 7-5. Briggs dominated in the first set before Wolfberg put up a fight in the second, making it a challenge to close out on court three. Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> remained consistent and persevered, ultimately securing the win and getting the score even at two all.
Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16142> faced No. 121 Catherina Aulia on court four and was next to finish at the Ring. Dudeney lost her first three games of the match, but was up for the challenge winning the next six to claim the first set 6-3. The second set went into a tiebreaker at six games all, but Alicia came out strong winning the first four points and taking the set 7-6 (7-1). With the win on court four, Florida took the lead for the first time at 3-2.
The final two matches of the day were No. 80 Sara Dahlstrom<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/sara-dahlstrom/16140> vs. Elza Tomase and No. 45 Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> vs. No. 27 Sofia Cabezas. Both Dahlstrom and Gailis secured the first set of their respective matches but fell in the second. Sara Dahlstrom<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/sara-dahlstrom/16140> won her first set 6-3, fell 5-7 in the second, and closed out 6-3 in the third to maintain her undefeated 2024 conference record at 4-0.
Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> was the final match out for Florida, upsetting the twenty-seventh ranked player in the nation, Sofia Cabezas. Gailis took the first set 6-4 before Cabezas came back to take the second 6-3. In the third and final set there was several lead changes between the top-50 ranked players, but it was Gailis who came out ahead to take the set 7-5 and conclude Tennessee’s time in Gainesville.
HEAD COACH ROLAND THORNQVIST SAID:
“Our end of set play is improving a lot. We are finding ways to win. We’re putting the ball where it needs to be, we use each other for support and we’re coachable. So, the toughness level has for sure gone up since the beginning of the season, and that’s going to bode well for this team.”
FINAL RESULTS:
Singles: (Order of Finish: 5, 6, 3, 4, 2, 1)
1. #45 Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> (UF) def. #27 Sofia Cabezas (TENN) 6-4, 3-6,
2. #80 Sara Dahlstrom<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/sara-dahlstrom/16140> (UF) def. Elza Tomase (TENN) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
3. #79 Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> (UF) def. Alana Wolfberg (TENN) 6-2, 7-5
4. Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16142> (UF) def. #121 Catherine Aulia (TENN) 6-3, 7-6 (
5. Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> (UF) def. Esther Adeshina (TENN) 6-0, 6-4
6. Lauren Anzalotta (TENN) def. Malwina Rowinska<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/malwina-rowinska/16397> (UF) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles: (Order of Finish: 2, 1)
1. #57 Elza Tomase/Sofia Cabezas (TENN) def. Malwina Rowinska<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/malwina-rowinska/16397>/Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> (UF) 6-3
2. #51 Esther Adeshina/Alana Wolfberg (TENN) def. Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16142>/Bente Spee<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/bente-spee/16144> (UF) 6-1
3. Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139>/Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> (UF) vs. Catherine Aulia/Lauren Anzalotta (TENN) 4-5, unfinished
NEXT UP:
The Gators will remain on their home courts this Friday evening and host No. 12 Auburn. The Tigers currently hold an 8-5 record and have three ranked singles players: Carolyn Ansari (No. 14), DJ Bennett (No. 64), and Ariana Arseneault (No. 70). Auburn’s DJ Bennett and Ariana Arseneault are also ranked in the double’s category at No. 19.
Doubles are set to go out at 5 p.m. with singles to immediately follow. Live stats and streaming for Friday’s match can be accessed here.<https://floridagators.com/sports/2018/3/9/tennis-women-live-video-stats.aspx>
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