Florida fought hard against the Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon, but came up short in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Gators will close out its 2024 season with a 17-9 (11-2 SEC) record.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 15 Gators fell 3-4 in an all-out battle against the No. 22 Miami Hurricanes in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament. Florida’s loss on Sunday afternoon concludes the team’s 2024 post-season.
The Gators opened the match with an early advantage, garnering its first doubles point from Carly Briggs and Qavia Lopez. The duo faced off against Leonie Schuknecht and Antonia Balzert on court two. Lopez’s impressive serving was on full display as they cruised to a 6-2 victory.
The second win of the day came from Rachel Gailis and Bente Spee as they took on Audrey Boch-Collins and Alexa Noel on court three. Gailis and Spee initially trailed 2-0 but quickly reset to meet Miami at 2-2. The duo’s momentum continued to surge as they eventually took a 5-3 lead before closing out at 6-4. Spee and Gailis win over Miami tallied their ninth consecutive doubles win and secure the Gators a 1-0 advantage heading into singles.
Doubles pair Alicia Dudeney and Malwina Rowinska faced No. 27 Isabella Pfennig and Xinyi Nong on court one and were ahead 6-5 before the match was called. Dudeney and Rowinska opened their match with an eager 3-0 advantage but Pfenning and Nong found a way to even it out at 3-3. The duo regained the lead once more at 5-4 before Miami responded again to tie things up at 5-5. Dudeney and Rowinska claimed one more game to settle at 6-5 before doubles was called.
No. 56 Carly Briggs opened Florida’s singles scoring column after she posted a huge win against Antonia Balzert. Briggs saw success early on in the first set, holding an immediate 3-0 lead before Balzert tallied a game at 3-1. Briggs then won the next two games to extend her lead to 5-1 and shortly after closed out the first set 6-2. In typical Briggs fashion, her energy from the first set victory carried over to set two, leaving Balzert scoreless at 6-0 in the second. Briggs win on court three increased Florida’s lead to 2-0.
No. 109 Qavia Lopez was unable to get it done in her first NCAA Second Round appearance as she dropped her match 6-2, 6-2, against Xinyi Nong. Lopez saw a tough opponent in Nong as she trailed in both sets for the duration of the match. Florida continued to lead Miami, but with a smaller margin at 2-1.
No. 8 Rachel Gailis saw fellow top-10 player No. 10 Alexa Noel on court one and found herself in a challenging spot after dropping the first set 6-2. Things started to look up for Gailis as she fought for a 3-0 lead to start the second set, but Noel never flinched. Noel went on to win the next six games straight to take the second set 6-3 over Gailis and close out the match. With another Miami singles win, the match was tied at 2-2.
No. 75 Sara Dahlstrom was able to regain the lead for Florida in a clinical performance against No. 47 Isabella Pfennig. Dahlstrom’s first set was a fight as the two top-100 players went back and forth before eventually matching each other at 4-4. After being tied up at 4-4 Dahlstrom never lost the lead again. Dahlstrom closed out set one 6-4 and began to soar past Pfennig in the start of the second reaching a 5-0 lead in the blink of an eye. Dahlstrom had match point at 5-0 but Miami wasn’t done yet, fighting for two more games. It didn’t take long before Dahlstrom’s cross court forehand began to rip again and she took the match 6-4, 6-2, garnering a 3-2 lead for the Gators.
Bente Spee faced Maria Vargas in a three-set thriller and fell 7-5, 2-6, 6-1. Spee put up a fight in the first set as she tied Vargas 3-3 after trailing early on. Vargas took the lead again at 5-4, but Spee was able to get one across to bring it to 5-5. Vargas responded taking the led 6-5 before closing out the first set 7-5. Spee turned the pressure up to start the second set and earned a 4-1 lead before Vargas was able to secure her another game to make it 4-2. Spee refused to let the margin close any further and took the second set 6-2 to force a third. In the third, Spee was unable to take a lead over Vargas and found herself down 5-0, before claiming her first and only game of the third set. Miami closed out on court six to tie the match 3-3.
With the NCAA Round Two match on the line it all came down to Alicia Dudeney and Audrey Boch-Collins on court four. Dudeney saw a successful first set, taking the lead over Boch-Collins immediately. Boch-Collins found a way to tie the first at 3-3, but Dudeney never hesitatied and took the next three games to close out the first at 6-3. Boch- Collins responded by taking the second set after getting out to an early 2-1 lead. Dudeney was only able to get three gamed in the second, falling 6-3. The third set was a battle for both players as the pressure began to seep in. Dudeney found herslelf trailing at 4-2, but slowly cut into the lead at 5-3. Dudeney held on for as long as she could but it was Boch-Collins who came out ahead in the third set to close out the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
QUICK HITS:
* Florida’s program record now stands at 1,133-205
* The Gators have secured the doubles point over its opponent in 14 consecutive matches
* Florida’s match record when winning the doubles point stands at 12-2
* Florida has only lost the doubles point four times this season:
* Pepperdine (Feb. 25), Texas A&M (Mar. 3), Georgia (Mar. 8), Tennessee (Mar. 10)
* Since changing all three pairings on Mar. 15 Florida has not lost the doubles point
* Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> holds the longest win streak on Florida’s current roster, winning nine consecutive singles matches
* Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> and Bente Spee<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/bente-spee/16144> have now won nine consecutive doubles matches
* This will be Florida’s first time not making the round of 16 since 2018
HEAD COACH ROLAND THORNQVIST SAID:
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist on the second-round loss:
Some years it’s easy to know exactly what to say, and then you have some years you really love the team and the way they worked together all year and how they invested, like this team. They came every morning, they grinded, worked and came a long way. To be honest we knew we had things that we had to get better at as the year progressed and I felt like we kept improving, but at the end it came down to a few little things and Miami was just ruthless at the end and you have to credit them in how they competed. We gave it everything we had to the very, very, very last point.”
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist on the senior’s final home match:
“We are just really proud of how they came and got their work done every day. That’s what it’s all about and then it’s just a matter of time for the program. I’m really grateful for everything they have done and how they invested, and what they were willing to sacrifice. They gave up college life for their teammates. And so, when this happens, it’s just really tough.”
Florida Women at the NCAA Championships
* The Gators have earned a spot in 41 of the 42 NCAA Championships, missing only the 1986 event
* Including this season, the Gators have qualified for 36-straight NCAA Championships under Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
* The Gators have the second most team titles in college women’s tennis with seven
* Stanford remains first
* Florida has earned three national championships in the last decade (2011, 2012, 2017).
Singles: (order of finish 3,5,1,2,6,4)
1. #10 Alexa Noel (UM-W) def. #8 Rachel Gailis (UF) 6-2, 6-3
2. #75 Sara Dahlstrom (UF) def. #47 Isabella Pfennig (UM-W) 6-4, 6-2
3. #56 Carly Briggs (UF) def. Leonie Schuknecht (UM-W) 6-2, 6-0
4. #115 Audrey Boch-Collins (UM-W) def. Alicia Dudeney (UF) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
5. Xinyi Nong (UM-W) def. #109 Qavia Lopez (UF) 6-2, 6-2
6. Maria Paula Vargas (UM-W) def. Bente Spee (UF) 7-5, 2-6, 6-1
Doubles: (order of finish 2,3)
1. Malwina Rowinska/Alicia Dudeney (UF) vs. #27 Isabella Pfennig/Xinyi Nong (UM-W) 6-5, unfinished
2. Qavia Lopez/Carly Briggs (UF) def. Antonia Balzert/Leonie Schuknecht (UM-W) 6-2
3. Rachel Gailis/Bente Spee (UF) def. Audrey Boch-Collins/Alexa Noel (UM-W) 6-4
NEXT UP:
Florida’s Rachel Gailis and Carly Briggs will compete in the 2024 NCAA Individual Tournament for singles. The matches will be held in Stillwater, Oklahoma and more information on the tournament will follow.
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