For the second time in four weeks, Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> is named SEC Freshman of the Week. The honor comes after Lopez went undefeated this past weekend in both the singles and doubles categories.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.– The Southeastern Conference has named Florida’s No. 115 <https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> Freshman of the Week. Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> went undefeated this past weekend with a combined four victories to increase her singles record to 21-9, 9-2 SEC, and mark her seventh SEC doubles victory.
No. 115 <https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> initiated the week with a doubles win in Nashville alongside No. 80 Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139>. Lopez and Briggs defeated No. 69 Valeria Ray and Holly Staff 6-2 to tally their first victory over a ranked pair.
The duo carried their momentum into Sunday’s contest against Kentucky’s Ellie Eades and Zoe Hammond. Briggs and Lopez boasted a 6-4 comeback win to clinch the doubles point for Florida and give them a 1-0 advantage heading into singles.
The dynamic freshman was also vital in the singles category for Florida, clinching the Gators’ 4-3 win over Vanderbilt with a battle in singles. Lopez saw a fierce competitor in Amy Stevens in a three-set battle. Lopez took the first set 6-2, but the match began to shift and quickly she found herself down 4-2 to Stevens in the second. Lopez was up for the challenge winning three consecutive games to garner a 5-4 lead before heading to a tiebreaker at 6-6. Lopez ultimately fell 7-6 (7-5) in the second set forcing a third.
In the final set, Lopez was trailing 2-0 but she was determined to take the win for Florida and won three consecutive games to take the lead at 3-2. From there Lopez dominated and eventually closed out the third 6-3. With a 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 victory over Stevens, Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283>clinched the match for the Gators and gave Florida its eighth consecutive win.
<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283>Qavia Lopez’s<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> second singles contest of the week was a quick straight-set win to defeat Kentucky’s Ellie Myers. After winning the first set 6-3, Lopez held the lead over Myers for the entirety of the second set and blank her at 6-0. With Lopez’s continued success, the freshman has moved up four spots in the ITA rankings to claim No. 115.
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