A pair of Florida doubles squads will compete in the quarterfinal round on Saturday.
LAS VEGAS – Florida women’s tennis received strong performances from their doubles squads on Friday afternoon, sending two teams into the quarterfinals at the prestigious Freeman Memorial tournament in Las Vegas.
In the doubles competition, which started the tournament off on Friday, the pair of Marlee Zein and Carly Briggs, who are ranked No. 24 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, defeated Aura Fang/CoCo Zhao of UNLV, 6-2, to advance to Saturday’s round of 16. The freshman duo of Bente Spee and Alicia Dudeney, ranked No. 46, also advanced after defeating Ana Geller/Niluka Madurawe of Stanford, 7-5.
The quarterfinal round is slated to begin at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Later in the afternoon, three Gators advanced out of the round of 32 in singles competition in a loaded competition field. McCartney Kessler earned her first victory with the Orange & Blue of the season, defeating Oklahoma State’s Martina Zerulo: 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, before falling to No. 36 Savannah Broadus of Pepperdine: 6-4, 6-1.
After a strong doubles performance, No. 34 Zein earned a hard-fought victory over UNLV’s Salsa Aher: 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. Matched up with UCLA’s Elysia Bolton in the next round, the senior fell: 6-4, 6-4. Zein’s doubles partner, Briggs, also opened her singles competition with a win, defeating Madurawe of Stanford after the Cardinal retired. Briggs was holding a 6-4 lead after one set. In the round of 16, Briggs was unable to overcome No. 55 Oona Orpana of Oklahoma State, as the opposition claimed victory: 6-4, 6-3.
The Florida singles contingent isn’t done yet, however, as the Gators will compete in the consolation round in the coming days.
QUOTES FROM THE COURT
Assistant Coach Lauren Embree
“Today was a great test to see where we are physically and mentally going into the season. I was happy with how we executed in some tough doubles situations, particularly how our freshman closed out their doubles win. I am looking forward to how we respond in singles tomorrow.”
SINGLES – ROUND ONE
Nikki Redelijk (PEPP) def. #87 Emma Shelton (UF) 6-1, 6-4
McCartney Kessler (UF) def. Martina Zerulo (OSU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
Zita Kovacs (UNLV) def. Alicia Dudeney (UF) 6-4, 6-2
(7) #49 Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) def. Bente Spee (UF) 6-2, 6-1
(5) #34 Marlee Zein (UF) def. Salsa Aher (UNLV) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
Carly Briggs (UF) def. Niluka Madurawe (STAN) 6-4, retired
(2) #10 Lisa Zaar (PEPP) def. Sydney Berlin (UF) 6-1, 6-0
SINGLES – ROUND OF 16
(6) #36 Savannah Broadus (PEPP) def. McCartney Kessler (UF) 6-4, 6-1
Elysia Bolton (UCLA) def. (5) #34 Marlee Zein (UF) 6-4, 6-4
(8) #55 Oona Orpana (OSU) def. Carly Briggs (UF) 6-4, 6-3
DOUBLES
Elysia Bolton/Elise Wagle (UCLA) def. McCartney Kessler/Emma Shelton (UF) 6-2
(4) #46 Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee (UF) def. Ana Geller/Niluka Madurawe (STAN) 7-5
(2) #24 Marlee Zein/Carly Briggs (UF) def. Aura Fang/CoCo Zhao (UNLV) 6-2
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