Gators defeat Tigers 5-2 to earn double-bye in SEC Championship
AUBURN, Ala. – The 17th ranked Florida women’s tennis team completed their regular season Sunday afternoon, defeating the No. 15 Auburn Tigers 5-2.
The Gators (15-6, 9-4 SEC) earned their second-highest ranked win of the season, and best ranked road victory this season today against Auburn (18-7, 8-5 SEC). Florida recorded five top-35 wins this regular season.
In doubles, the Gators snatched their 14th doubles win of the year, and are 13-1 overall when they win the critical opening point.
Florida’s top doubles team of Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee continued their hot streak, posting a 6-0 bagel against No. 24 Arseneault/Ansari of Auburn. Florida’s No. 49 nationally ranked tandem has won seven-straight at No. 1 doubles, with three of those wins coming against top-35 doubles teams.
Carly Briggs/Rachel Gailis, the No. 74 ranked doubles team, made quick work at No. 2 doubles, winning 6-1 over the Tigers’ Flach/Okutoyi for their sixth dual doubles win of the spring, as the Gators entered singles play up 1-0.
Florida started off singles play with five first-set victories to jump out with an early edge.
After a Tiger win at three singles, Emily De Oliveira, playing No. 5 singles, gave the Gators the lead right back, winning 6-2 in the first set before clawing out a 7-6 win in the second set. The Bradenton, Florida native now has 12 dual singles wins this season.
Auburn tied the match with a three-set victory from No. 43 Carolyn Ansari over No. 38 Carly Briggs on court two. Briggs got ahead early in the first set, but couldn’t hold off Ansari’s push.
Gailis gave Florida the lead right back, a lead they wouldn’t give up. The freshman won her seventh-straight singles match, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, and her 13th dual singles win of the season.
Sara Dahlstrom, ranked a team-best No. 37 in the ITA singles rankings, clinched the road victory for Florida, her second clinch this spring. Dahlstrom took down No. 46 Arseneault 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (2) for her sixth ranked singles win.
After prevailing in the first set 7-8 (6), Spee took a three-set win at No. 6 singles as a cherry on top of the regular season finale win for the Gators. A member of Florida’s top doubles team, Spee notched her sixth dual singles win of the year to close the regular season.
Florida is winners of seven of their past nine heading into next week’s 2023 SEC Championship. The Gators are locked into the four seed, and will play on Friday, April 21 at 10 a.m. ET in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
QUOTES FROM THE COURT
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the match…
“We played the best doubles of the year. Our doubles play has been trending up over the last month and today was our best doubles performance of the year, which obviously really set the tone. It helped us in the beginning of singles too. We started off really strong, had the momentum in the early parts of singles play. Credit to Auburn playing at home on senior day, you knew they were going to try dig back and slowly but surely they worked their way back. We had four three set matches, and we won the first set in all of those four three-set matches. That tells you how tough Auburn was in their fight back. I thought we were just really clinical at the end in those important matches. When it gets to be tight like that, nerve-wracking, it’s just really important to choose the right ball to hit, and I thought we did the better job today and that’s why we won.”
“I’m proud of how we problem-solved. We talked all year about the protocol of navigating full sets, and I’m really proud to see we’re growing as players and our decision making in these moments, and that’s why you give yourself a chance to win these closely contested matches.”
On the team’s momentum heading into the SEC Championship…
“We knew we were going to have a monster two weeks before the tournament on the road, so losing back-to-back last week dented our confidence a little bit, but obviously winning two matches this weekend is really good. We have to digest this on one leg, but on the other leg we have to get back to the drawing board and be ready for the same type of matches first thing Friday.”
Doubles Results
1. #49 Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee (UF) def. #24 Ariana Arseneault/Carolyn Ansari (AUB) 6-0
2. #74 Carly Briggs/Rachel Gailis (UF) def. Adeline Flach/Angella Okutoyi (AUB) 6-1
3. DJ Bennett/Kaitlyn Carnicella (AUB) vs. Emma Shelton/Sophie Williams (UF) 3-2, unfinished
Order of Finish: 2,1
Singles Results
1. #37 Sara Dahlstrom (UF) def. #46 Ariana Arseneault (AUB) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2)
2. #43 Carolyn Ansari (AUB) def. #38 Carly Briggs (UF) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #96 Alicia Dudeney (UF) 7-5, 6-2
4. Rachel Gailis (UF) def. Kaitlyn Carnicella (AUB) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
5. Emily de Oliveira (UF) def. Angella Okutoyi (AUB) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
6. Bente Spee (UF) def. Adeline Flach (AUB) 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 6-4
Order of Finish: 3,5,2,4,1,6
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