Florida will return home after another successful weekend of SEC play. The Gators finished their road stretch with a 4-0 win over Kentucky and now boasts a 14-7 overall record.
LEXINGTON, KY. – No. 13 Florida closed out the weekend at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex with a 4-0 victory over No. 63 Kentucky. The win in Kentucky marks the Gators’ ninth straight SEC victory. After a successful weekend, Florida will return home with a 14-7, 10-2 SEC record.
The first win of the day came from doubles pair Rachel Gailis and Bente Spee as they shutout Ellie Myers and Julia Zhu 6-0. Gailis and Spee dominated the match from start to finish and tallied their tally fifth conference win with a 5-1 overall record.
Carly Briggs and Qavia Lopez defeated Ellie Eades and Zoe Hammond in a tough matchup and clinched the doubles point for the second time this weekend. Briggs and Lopez found themselves down 4-3 before initiating a comeback and winning three consecutive games to take the match 6-4.
Doubles pair Malwina Rowinska and Alicia Dudeney were left unfinished on court one. Rowinska and Dudeney were trailing 5-3 to Kentucky’s Makayla Mills and Elizabeth Stevens.
With a 1-0 advantage heading into singles, Florida’s momentum and confidence carried through in a dominating fashion. The Gators posted three straight set wins against the Wildcats and all three matches ended in second set shutouts.
No. 86 Carly Briggs was the initial singles win for Florida logging a 6-2, 6-0 win over Ellie Eades. Extending the two-point lead, No. 119 Qavia Lopez defeated Ellie Myers 6-3, 6-0 and Florida’s Alicia Dudeney closed out with the third singles win. Dudeney notched the match point for the Gators defeating Julia Zhu on Court four in a 6-4, 6-0 effort.
Three matches were left unfinished when Florida secured the 4-0 win over Kentucky. No. 13 Rachel Gailis took her first set against Zoe Hammond 6-3, but Hammond responded in the second leading 4-3 before the match was called.
No. 64 Sara Dahlstrom was left unfinished as well. Dahlstrom saw a fierce competitor in Elizabeth Stevens on court two dropping the first set 7-5 after holding a 5-2 lead. Dahlstrom also saw several set points, but Stevens pushed through the adversity to challenge Dahlstrom in Lexington. Despite falling 7-5 in the first, Sara Dahlstrom came out with a renewed energy to start the second. Dahlstrom took over quickly in the second and held a 2-0 lead before Florida clinched the match.
The final unfinished contest in Lexington was between Bente Spee and Makayla Mills on court six. Spee came out strong with a 4-0 lead over Mills, before being challenged at 5-2. Mills continued to press Spee and forced a set tiebreaker at 6-6. The score in the tiebreak stood at 5-2 with Spee taking the final point before the Gators closed out 4-0.
HEAD COACH ROLAND THORNQVIST:
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist on the successful weekend:
“We did really well in doubles to start and we seem to be in an overall good place there. We also have tough skin in singles, win or lose games we have been able to fight through adversity and stretch leads. We are in a really good place and this is the best we have played all year.”
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist on the message to the team and what’s next:
“Take care of our bodies and focus on South Carolina. That’s going to be one of the toughest matches all year. They have an outstanding one and two and they always give us a good fight, but we’re at a good place so we’re going to come out hard.”
Singles: (order of finish 3,5,4)
1. Zoe Hammond (UK) vs. #13 Rachel Gailis (UF) 3-6,4-3, unfinished
2. Elizabeth Stevens (UK) vs. Sara Dahlstrom (UF) 7-5,0-2, unfinished
3. Carly Briggs (UF) def. Ellie Eades (UK) 6-2,6-0
4 Alicia Dudeney (UF) def. Julia Zhu (UK) 6-4 ,6-0
5. Qavia Lopez (UF) def. Ellie Myers (UK) 6-3, 6-0
6. Makayla Mills (UK) vs. Bente Spee (UF) 6-6, unfinished
Doubles: (order of finish 3,2)
1. #30 Alicia Dudeney/Malwina Rowinska (UF) #44 Makayla Mills/Elizabeth Stevens (UK) 5-3, unfinished
2. Carly Briggs/Qavia Lopez (UF) def. Ellie Eades/Zoe Hammond (UK) 6-4
3. Rachel Gailis/Bente Spee (UF) def. Ellie Myers/Julia Zhu (UK) 6-0
NEXT UP:
The Gators will return home to Alfred A. Ring Tennis complex to take on No. 17 South Carolina on Saturday afternoon. Florida’s match against South Carolina will mark its last SEC contest of the 2024 season. Doubles will go out at 11 a.m. with singles to follow.
ITA RANKINGS
Florida finds itself ranked No. 13 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Four Gators are ranked in singles competition: Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> at No. 13 , Sara Dahlstrom at No. 64, Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> at No. 86, and Qavia Lopez ranks at No. 119. Doubles pair Malwina Rowinska and Alicia Dudeney also cracked into the ITA rankings at No. 30.
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