Florida’s Rachel Gailis and Qavia Lopez have been recognized by the conference as SEC Player of the Week and SEC Freshman of the Week. The honors come after the Gators closed out its regular season 4-2 over the No. 18 Gamecocks.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- The Southeastern Conference announced its weekly honors Monday afternoon and Florida was recognized across the board. No. 11 Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> was named SEC Player of the Week, and for the third time this season, No. 115 Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> was awarded SEC Freshman of the Week.
Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> receives conference-wide recognition after securing her highest-ranked career win in straight sets over the seventh-ranked collegiate player in the nation. Gailis was hot from the start this weekend posting several winners as she pushed No. 7 Ayana Akli out of her comfort zone in Gator territory. Gailis continued to set the precedent over her top-10 opponent and eventually finished out the first set 6-2 without ever trailing.
South Carolina’s Ayana Akli took her first lead of the match in the second set at 3-2 before Gailis retaliated to tie it up at three games all. From there it was a back-and-forth battle until Gailis pulled ahead in the final games of the match and ultimately took the second set 6-4. Gailis’ 6-2, 6-4 win over the No. 7 ranked player in the country just solidifies her ability to compete and clinch vital matches for the Gators.
Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> also had an impressive week in the doubles category alongside partner Bente Spee<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/bente-spee/16144>. The duo clinched the doubles point for Florida after a 6-2 victory over Olympe Lancelot and Misa Malkin. Gailis and Spee have now recorded five consecutive victories together and boast a 6-1 conference record.
Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> ends the regular season in singles with a 20-5, 9-2 SEC, record and has gone 7-1 in her last 10 matches. With steady victories in both categories, Gailis holds a large role in Florida’s 10-match win streak as the Gators enter the SEC tournament as the No. 3 seed.
No. 115 Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> has also been instrumental in Florida’s ongoing success in conference play. Lopez has gone undefeated in both the singles and doubles categories through April, and most recently clinched Florida’s 4-2 victory over the Gamecocks in a three-set thriller.
Over the weekend, Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> saw a tough opponent in South Carolina’s Misa Malkin. Lopez fell in the first set 7-6 (7-5), but without hesitation, Lopez put her head down and went to work, claiming the second set 6-2. In the third and final set, Lopez saw match point at 40-40 (5-3), but Malkin rose to the occasion and challenged Lopez to get the set tied at 6-6. Determined to change the narrative of the first set tiebreaker, Lopez played a strategic final few points to claim the tiebreaker 7-5 and close out the match 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).
In doubles, Lopez played with partner Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> and recorded their seventh SEC win of the season. The duo defeated South Carolina’s Shahar Biran and Elise Mills 6-2 in a dominant fashion. Lopez and Briggs were paired up in the early stages of SEC play and have tallied several wins since. The duo will enter the conference tournament with a 7-1 record and are looking to extend their three-match win streak.
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