Gators back in action Sunday at No. 5 Georgia
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Battling on the last three courts, the No. 17 Florida women’s tennis team’s comeback bid fell short Friday evening, falling 4-1 to No. 15 Tennessee.
The Gators (13-5, 7-3 SEC) entered with a five-match win streak, but fell behind early after dropping the doubles point.
Tennessee (15-4, 8-2 SEC) fired on all cylinders to start the match, winning 6-0 at the three doubles slot and 6-1 on court two. The duo of Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee were climbing out of an early deficit, and were down 4-2 when the early point was clinched.
Freshman Rachel Gailis put Florida on the board in singles, winning 6-3, 6-2 on court four. The victory marked Gailis’ 10th dual single win of the spring, and extends her win streak to four.
The Gators were threatening late in the match. After dropping the first set, Carly Briggs bounced back with a 6-2 second set win, and was leading 3-2 in the third set over No. 24 Rebeka Mertena when the Lady Vols clinched. At No. 1 singles, No. 37 Sara Dahlstrom was looking to force a third set against No. 38 Elza Tomase, and was locked in a 5-5 second set battle when the match ended.
The Lady Vols clinched the win on court three. Daria Kuczer, ranked No. 46 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association Rankings, went back and forth with No. 86 Dudeney in the second set. After hanging on until the last serve, Kuczer prevailed with a 6-3, 7-5 victory to seal it for Tennessee.
Florida will quickly turn its attention towards No. 5 Georgia on Sunday in Athens. The Gators and Bulldogs will meet for a 1 p.m. ET first serve.
QUOTES FROM THE COURT
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On battling back from a deficit…
“I thought we were completely outplayed in doubles. Going indoors, we were on our heels. Tennessee was playing downhill from first ball. That happened to us last week against Arkansas. After doubles I mentioned that how well we handled it last week. We suffered some quick defeats in singles, and all of a sudden an hour in we’re down 3-0. I know we fought like crazy, but sometimes that’s just too big of a gap to bridge, and Tennessee was very skilled and feisty and had a big crowd. We were unable to get all the way back there but in the SEC you play top-15 teams and if you have a bad day or an off day, they’re going to punish you, and that’s what we are finding out. They’re small margins in this game, and certainly there are things that we learned from today. I want to make sure we focus on those things rather then dig ourselves in a hole after this.”
On the play of Rachel Gailis…
“She’s finding her stride now in singles, and that’s obviously really going to help us because she’s immensely talented and when she starts to have confidence in her play, she can beat just about anyone. That really is certainly helping us. It wasn’t enough today. It looked like Sara and Carly were about to get close to the finish line for us, but Tennessee was really good there at the end and you have to give them credit too. It wasn’t just that we played poorly, I thought Tennessee did a really good job finishing some of those tightly contested sets.”
Doubles Results
1. #36 Rebeka Mertena/Esther Adeshina (TENN) vs. #53 Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee (UF) 4-2, unfinished
2. Lauren Anzalotta/Catherine Aulia (TENN) def. #79 Carly Briggs/Rachel Gailis (UF) 6-1
3. Eleonora Molinaro/Daria Kuczer (TENN) def. Emily de Oliveira/Sophie Williams (UF) 6-0
Order of Finish: 3,2
Singles Results
1. #38 Elza Tomase (TENN) vs. #37 Sara Dahlstrom (UF) 6-4, 5-5, unfinished
2. #24 Rebeka Mertena (TENN) vs. #45 Carly Briggs (UF) 6-4, 2-6, 2-3, unfinished
3. #46 Daria Kuczer (TENN) def. #86 Alicia Dudeney (UF) 6-3, 7-5
4. Rachel Gailis (UF) def. Catherine Aulia (TENN) 6-3, 6-2
5. Esther Adeshina (TENN) def. Emily De Oliveira (UF) 6-3, 6-2
6. Lauren Anzalotta (TENN) def. Bente Spee (UF) 6-1, 6-2
Order of Finish: 5,6,4,3
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