The Gators shine in singles against Florida State and USF on day one of the Florida Invitational
The Florida women’s tennis team opened play at the Florida Invitational on Saturday morning, hosting Florida State and USF at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. The teams competed in both singles and doubles competition.
In doubles, Florida State claimed both courts to begin the day. The Seminoles duo of Eva Shaw and Maria Juliana Parra Romero defeated UF’s freshmen Talia Neilson-Gatenby<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/talia-neilson-gatenby/17074> and Nikola Daubnerova<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/nikola-daubnerova/16984>, 6-1 on court one.
On court two, Gators Bente Spee<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/bente-spee/16983> and Noémie Oliveras opened with back-to-back break points against FSU’s Millie Bissett and Laura Putz. Despite a comeback effort, the Florida duo fell 6-3.
Momentum shifted as the Gators responded with impressive performances in singles. On court one, senior Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16980> dropped the first set 6-4 to Bissett. Dudeney led 4-0 in the second before earning a retirement victory.
Neilson-Gatenby also recorded a victory for Florida after staging an impressive comeback on court two, defeating Parra Romero. The freshman had no answers for Parra Romero in the first set falling 6-0, but remained focused in the second to secure a 6-2 victory. After forcing a tiebreak Neilson-Gatenby left no room for doubt securing a 10-5 match win.
Daubnerova kept Florida’s momentum alive on court three with a victory over Shaw. Daubnerova battled in the first set but was defeated 6-3. The freshman remained calm and came out on top, taking the second set 6-1. Daubnerova also went into a tiebreak and logged a 10-5 victory.
Oliveras rounds out the Gators’ singles success with a straight-sets win against USF’s Margherita Marcon, 6-4, 6-3, on court five.
Play will continue Sunday as the Florida Invitational wraps up its final day of action.
WEEKEND COVERAGE:
This weekend’s event is free to the general public and live coverage can be found at the following links.
* Site: Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex<https://floridagators.com/sports/2020/4/4/alfred-a-ring-tennis-complex.aspx>
* Watch<https://floridagators.com/sports/2018/3/9/tennis-women-live-video-stats.aspx>
* Live stats<https://sidearmstats.com/florida/wten/>
SCHEDULE OVERVIEW*:
SUNDAY:
1/12 Sunday Doubles Round 1 (Indoors): 10:00AM
* Court 1: UF(1) vs. FSU(2)
* Court 2: UF(2) vs. USF/FSU Pair
* Court 3: FSU(1) vs. USF(1)
1/12 Sunday Doubles Round 2 (Indoors): 11:00AM
* Court 1: FSU(3) vs. USF(2)
* Court 2: FSU(4) vs. USF(3)
1/12 Sunday Singles (Outdoors): 1:00PM
* Court 1: UF(1) vs. FSU(2)
* Court 2: UF(2) vs. USF(3)
* Court 3: UF(3) vs. FSU(4)
* Court 4: UF(4) vs. FSU(5)
* Court 5: UF(5) vs. USF(4)
* Court 6: FSU(1) vs. USF(1)
* Court 7: FSU(3) vs. USF(2)
* Court 8: FSU(6) vs. USF(5)
* Court 9: FSU(7) vs. USF(6)
* Court 10: FSU(8) vs. USF(7)
* The above schedule is subject to change due to weather and court conditions
