Florida was faced with an intense opponent in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament, falling 4-2 to No. 12 Texas A&M. The Gators saw an early advantage after claiming the doubles point but they were unable to pull ahead in singles. Florida’s loss to the Aggies ends its 11-match win streak.
ATHENS, Ga. – No. 14 Florida women’s tennis falls to No. 12 Texas A&M in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. The Gators put up a strong fight securing the doubles point, but were unable to get past the No. 1 player in the nation, Mary Stoiana and the return of Carson Branstine.
Florida saw the immediate challenge in front of them as they fought for every ball on the doubles side. In familiar fashion, Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> and Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> closed out first in doubles defeating Carson Branstine and Nicole Khirin 6-4. Court one was next with Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16142> and Malwina Rowinska<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/malwina-rowinska/16397> falling to No. 3 Mia Kupres and Mary Stoiana 6-3. With the doubles matches split it all came down to 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> on court three.
Gailis and Spee took a fast lead over Jeanette Mireles and Lucciana Perez at 4-1, but the Aggie’s increased their net presence to get the match tied up at 4-4, and then at 5-5. Headed into extra games the Gators knew how vital it was to close out and claim the early advantage. Gailis and Spee dug deep to win two in a row and claim a 7-5 victory on court three.
Singles proved to be an extreme challenge with the Gators only winning two first sets. No. 68 Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> took hers 7-5 over No. 19 Nicole Khirin and Bente Spee<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/bente-spee/16144> defeated Jeanette Mireles 6-4. Despite losing its early advantage Florida’s Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> came back to take her second set 6-3 over the heavy competitor, Carson Branstine.
Ultimately, Florida was only able to pull out one singles victory with Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> defeating No. 19 Khirin 7-5, 2-6, 6-1. Briggs win over Khirin now extends her win streak to eight.
Other third set thrillers were Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> on court one and Bente Spee<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/bente-spee/16144> on court six. Florida’s tough battle closes out their time in Athens, Georgia, as they will return home to prepare for the NCAA Tournament.
QUICK HITS:
* Florida’s win streak ends at 11 with the loss against Texas A&M
* Florida has made a combined 34 semifinal appearances in program history
* Its program record in the semifinals now stands at 27-7
* The Gators have secured the doubles point over its opponent in 11 consecutive matches
* Florida’s record when winning the doubles point now stands at 11-1
* 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 yet to lose 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 eight 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 seven consecutive doubles matches
* Gailis has secured 10 singles wins over SEC opponents this season
* 8 during conference play, 1 during non-conference play, 1 during post-season
* 9 of these victories were claimed on court one
Singles: (order of finish 2,5,4,3,1)
1. Carson Branstine (TAMU) def. #8 Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> (UF) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
2. #1 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. #71 Sara Dahlstrom<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/sara-dahlstrom/16140> (UF) 6-2, 6-0
3. #68 Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> (UF) def. #19 Nicole Khirin (TAMU) 7-5, 2-6, 6-1
4. #41 Mia Kupres (TAMU) def. Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16142> (UF) 6-2, 2-2
5. Lucciana Perez (TAMU) def. #111 Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> (UF) 6-0, 7-5
6. Jeanette Mireles (TAMU) vs. Bente Spee<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/bente-spee/16144> (UF) 4-6, 6-1, 4-2, unfinished
Doubles: (order of finish 2,3)
1. #3 Mary Stoiana/Mia Kupres (TAMU) def. #50 Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16142>/Malwina Rowinska<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/malwina-rowinska/16397> (UF) 6-3
2. Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139>/Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> (UF) def. Carson Branstine/Nicole Khirin (TAMU) 6-4
3. Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143>/Bente Spee<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/bente-spee/16144> (UF) def. Jeanette Mireles/Lucciana Perez (TAMU) 7-5
NEXT UP:
The Gators will return to Gainesville and prepare for the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The first round of NCAA’s will be the weekend of May 3-5. More information on that will be announced at the conclusion of all conference tournaments.
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