The Gators were defeated by the Volunteers on the first leg of their weekend road trip. UF fell 5-2 to No. 6 Tennessee on Friday night.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- The Florida Gators faced a tough challenge on Friday evening, falling 5-2 to the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers. Despite finding success on two courts, the Gators were unable to overcome the early Volunteers advantage. Florida now holds an overall record of 8-10 and stands at 4-8 in SEC play.
Doubles Action:
Tennessee gained an early lead taking courts three and two in doubles play. The Volunteers sealed the doubles point with a 6-3 victory on court two. Tennessee’s ranked pair, No. 38 Catherine Aulia and Leyla Britez Risso defeated Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16981> and Talia Neilson-Gatenby<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/talia-neilson-gatenby/17074> to take the 1-0 lead.
The doubles contest on court one, featuring No. 45 Bente Spee<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/bente-spee/16983> and Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16980>, remained unfinished. When the match was called, No. 50 Elza Tomase and Maeve Thornton led 5-3 over the Gator pair.
Singles Play:
Florida attempted to regain control but was unable to cut into the lead before Tennessee secured the win. The Volunteers struck first in singles with 6-2, 6-1 win from No. 69 Leyla Britez Risso over Neilson-Gatenby.
Tennessee showed no signs of slowing down as Saray Yli-Piipari claimed a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Emily de Oliveira on court five. The match was secured on court one, where No. 21 Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16981> fell 6-3, 6-3 to top-ranked No. 7 Tomase.
Despite clinching the match, the remaining courts were played out. On court two, No. 75 Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16980> opened the scoring column for UF, defeating No. 34 Aulia 6-3, 6-4. Elim Yan earned Tennessee’s fifth and final point defeating Reagan Parker<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/reagan-parker/17708> 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. Spee logged the Gators second point after going into extended sets. Spee took the first set 7-5, but Thornton responded cruising to a 6-2 win in the second forcing a third. The final set was a super tiebreak with Spee coming out on top 10-3.
FINAL RESULTS:
Final Singles Results:
1. #7 Elza Tomase (TENN) def. #21 Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16981> (UF) 6-3, 6-3
2. #75 Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16980> (UF) def. #34 Catherine Aulia (TENN) 6-3, 6-4
3. #69 Leyla Britez Risso (TENN) def. Talia NeilsonGatenby (UF) 6-2, 6-1
4. Bente Spee<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/bente-spee/16983> (UF) def. Maeve Thornton (TENN) 7-5, 2-6, 10-4
5. Saray Yli-Piipari (TENN) def. Emily de Oliveira (UF) 6-4, 6-3
6. Elim Yan (TENN) def. Reagan Parker<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/reagan-parker/17708> (UF) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
Order of finish: 3,5,1,2,6,4
Final Doubles Results:
1. #50 Elza Tomase/Maeve Thornton (TENN) vs. #45 Bente Spee<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/bente-spee/16983>/Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16980> (UF) 5-3, unfinished
2. #38 Catherine Aulia/Leyla Britez Risso (TENN) def. Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16981>/Talia NeilsonGatenby (UF) 6-3
3. Conley Raidt/Saray Yli-Piipari (TENN) def. Reagan Parker<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/reagan-parker/17708>/Noemie Oliveras (UF) 6-1
Order of finish: 3,2
TEAM RECORDS:
No. 34 Florida: 8-10, (4-8 SEC)
No. 6 Tennessee: 15-4, (9-3 SEC)
UP NEXT:
Florida will stay on the road and travel to Lexington for a Sunday showdown against the Wildcats. UF will meet UK on Sunday afternoon with doubles going out at 1 p.m. ET.
No. 46 Kentucky (9-10, 3-8 SEC)
* Date: Sunday, April 6
* Time: 1 p.m. ET
* Site: Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center<https://ukathletics.com/facilities/tennis-complex/>
* Watch<https://ukathletics.com/kentucky-tennis-live-video/>
* Live stats<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=573773&vislive=fla>
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