Florida takes a big win over South Carolina to conclude the 2024 regular season. The Gators 4-2 win over the Gamecocks also marks the team’s tenth consecutive victory in SEC play.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 13 Gators finished out regular season SEC play with an elite performance over the No. 18 Gamecocks. Florida defeated South Carolina 4-2 to defend its home courts on Senior Day.
Florida’s victory was put into motion after the Gators claimed an early 1-0 advantage in doubles play. Doubles courts two and three defeated the Gamecocks in a similar fashion, both with a final score of 6-2. The first to do it was Carly Briggs and Qavia Lopez over South Carolina’s Shahar Biran and Elise Mills.
Rachel Gailis and Bente Spee shortly followed on court three, defeating Olympe Lancelot and Misa Malkin. The doubles contest was a back and forth battle in the beginning but after being tied up 2-2, Spee and Gailis never lost a game again to close out 6-2.
Florida’s only ranked doubles pair, No. 45 Alicia Dudeney and Malwina Rowinska were left unfinished on court one. The score stood at 4-4 when the Gators clinched the team doubles point. Florida has now claimed the doubles point over its opponent for nine consecutive matchups.
No. 80 Carly Briggs extended Florida’s lead in singles after shutting out Shahar Biran on court three. Briggs defeated Biran 6-0, 6-0 on her senior day showing her dominance in Gainesville once more.
The 2-0 advantage was tested after Florida’s No. 65 Sara Dahlstrom was defeated on court two. Dahlstrom fell 6-2, 6-2 seeing a tough opponent in No. 16 Sarah Hamner. Dahlstrom fought hard on her senior day and gave it her all, but was unable to get past the Gamecocks.
No. 11 Rachel Gailis brought Florida back to a two-point advantage (3-1), after recording her highest career win over No. 7 Ayana Akli. Gailis was hot from the start with several winners as she pushed Akli all over court one. Gailis never trailed in the first set and closed out at 6-2. South Carolina’s Akli took her first lead of the match in the second at 3-2 before Gailis tied it up at 3-3. From there it was a back and forth battle until Gailis pulled ahead in the final games of the match to take the second set 6-4. Gailis’ 6-2, 6-4 win over the No. 7 ranked collegiate player in the nation just solidified her ability to compete and clinch vital matches for the Gators.
With a 3-1 advantage and three court still out, Florida needed one more win to claim the victory over the Gamecocks. However, South Carolina made it a tall task with the final three courts all going into third set thrillers. Alicia Dudeney was next to finish for Florida, but saw a difficult deficit to Elise Mills. Dudeney fell 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 to Mills after having a chance to close out herself with match point at 5-4 in the third. Mills fought back to bring it to deuce and subsequently take the next three games and tally South Carolina’s second point of the day.
No. 115 Qavia Lopez demonstrated her grit once again and clinched the match for the Gators in a third set tiebreak. To start the match, Lopez fell in the first set 7-6 (7-5) to South Carolina’s Misa Malkin. Without hesitation, Lopez put her head down and went to work claiming the second set 6-2. In the third and final set Lopez saw match point at 40-40 (5-3), but Malkin rose to the occasion and challenged Lopez to eventually get the set tied at 6-6. Determined to change the narrative of the first set tiebreaker, Lopez played a strategic final few points to claim the tiebreaker 7-5 and close out the match 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).
With Qavia Lopez’s big win on court five, Florida secured a 4-2 victory over the Gamecocks. The only match left unfinished was Bente Spee against Olympe Lancelot on court six. Spee took the first set 7-6 (9-7) after being down 4-1 in the tiebreak, but fell 6-2 in the second. After splitting sets, Spee was trailing 4-1 in the third before the Gators clinched its tenth consecutive victory.
HEAD COACH ROLAND THORNQVIST SAID:
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist on Florida’s growth and commitment:
“I am really proud of this team because we were really at a dark place in February after losing five straight. We had big hopes and dreams to start the season in pursuit to win silverware and with several injuries some of those dreams were eroded. However, this team made a commitment after the Georgia loss to try and run the table and I am just really proud to see that they somehow as a group took to that and worked every week tirelessly. My heart is truly full of pride in how they were able to do it over the course of two months.”
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist on Florida’s Senior Day:
“Today was a fantastic way to send the seniors off. They mean so much to us and they are huge characters in the locker room, not just winning, but big personalities for us to lead the way in the locker room. So, for the team to have their back and send them off with a win like this is very fitting.”
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist on the growth and success of Rachel Gailis after her biggest career win:
“Last year Rachel had to get used to the college tennis arena. This year she started way higher in the lineup and it took her a little bit of time to get used to playing at two and then eventually one. It also took her a little time to see herself and really believe that she is one of the best players in the country.”
“We talked about this in the fall together and what the playbook was going to look like; how she was going to practice, what she needs to during the week, and one of the biggest differences between freshman Rachel and Sophomore Rachel is as a freshman she was much more emotional. This year she has been so professional and with her talent she is going to continue to find herself as one of the better players in the country and boy is it really helping the Gators.”
FINAL RESULTS:
Singles competition
1. #11 Rachel Gailis (UF) def. #7 Ayana Akli (SC) 6-2, 6-4
2. #16 Sarah Hamner (SC) def. #65 Sara Dahlstrom (UF) 6-2, 6-2
3. #80 Carly Briggs (UF) def. Shahar Biran (SC) 6-0, 6-0
4. Elise Mills (SC) def. Alicia Dudeney (UF) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
5. #115 Qavia Lopez (UF) def. Misa Malkin (SC) 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
6. Bente Spee (UF) vs. Olympe Lancelot (SC) 7-6 (9-7), 2-6, 1-4, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #45 Alicia Dudeney/Malwina Rowinska (UF) vs. #21 Ayana Akli/Sarah Hamner (SC) 4-4, unfinished
2. Qavia Lopez/Carly Briggs (UF) def. Shahar Biran/Elise Mills (SC) 6-2
3. Rachel Gailis/Bente Spee (UF) def. Olympe Lancelot/Misa Malkin (SC) 6-2
NEXT UP:
The Gators will travel to the University of Georgia next week and initiate the start of post-season play. The 2024 SEC tournament is being hosted by the Bulldogs and will begin on Wednesday at 11 a.m. The bracket is dependent on final conference rankings, which will be determined and announced Sunday through the Southeastern Conference.
For more information on the upcoming SEC tournament follow this link<https://www.secsports.com/championships/womens-tennis-championship>.
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. 11 , Sara Dahlstrom<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/sara-dahlstrom/16140> at No. 65, Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> at No. 80, and Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> ranks at No. 115. Doubles pair Malwina Rowinska<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/malwina-rowinska/16397> and Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16142> have also been slated into the ITA ranking at No. 45.
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