Alicia Dudeney headlined the strong day for the Gators with a ranked-victory in round two.
LAKE NONA, Fla. – Florida women’s tennis had a strong opening day in the main draw of the ITA Southeast Regional Championships, sending three singles athletes and two doubles teams to the round of 16.
All six Gators competing in singles competition managed to battle their way into the second round of the tournament without dropping a single set. Of those six, three won both matches on the day to advance to round of 16 on Saturday.
Freshman Alicia Dudeney opened the singles draw by sweeping Selene Kentish of Bethune Cookman (6-0, 6-1) before earning the second ranked win of her career over No. 94 Gia Cohen of Georgia Tech, 2-0 (6-2, 6-0). The United Kingdom native will be back in action against Central Florida’s Marie Mattel on Saturday.
No. 41 Carly Briggs also had a perfect day on the court, winning both her matches, beginning with Georgia Tech’s Monika Dedaj (6-3, 6-3) and then battling with Victoria Allen of Florida State in three sets. Briggs opened the match with a dominant 6-1 performance before dropping set two in a tiebreaker, 6-7. Ultimately, Briggs claimed victory with a 6-0 third frame. She will face-off with No. 80 Evgeniya Levashova of Central Florida on Saturday.
Emma Shelton, ranked No. 84 in the ITA preseason rankings, was the third Gator to punch her ticket to the round of 16. The junior defeated Noa Cohen of Stetson, 2-0 (6-1, 6-3) in the first round, following that performance with a 7-5, 6-2 showing over North Florida’s Isabel Oliveira. Georgia Tech’s No. 65 Ava Hrastar awaits Shelton on Saturday.
After securing a spot in the main draw of doubles play on Thursday, the doubles duo of Berlin and Dudeney continued to impress on Friday in the first match of the day. Opening-up with Georgia Tech’s Gia Cohen and Rosie Garcia Gross, the Gator pair again managed to keep momentum on their side for an 8-4 victory. Also earning a doubles victory on Friday was Briggs and Zein. The pair, who are both ranked in the ITA preseason rankings individually, were dominant against Naya Tillitt and Mary Courville of Mercer, cruising to an 8-2 win.
Berlin and Dudeney, as well as Briggs and Zein, will resume action on Saturday in the round of 16.
MAIN DRAW SINGLES
No. 41 Carly Briggs def. Monika Dedaj (Georgia Tech): 6-3, 6-3
Sydney Berlin def. Audrey Boch-Collins (Miami): 7-6(4), 6-4
Alicia Dudeney def. Selene Kentish (Bethune Cookman): 6-0, 6-1
Bente Spee def. Amber McGinnis (Florida Atlantic): 6-1, 6-2
No. 64 Marlee Zein def. Fanny Nornin (Florida Gulf Coast): 6-1, 6-4
No. 84 Emma Shelton def. Noa Cohen (Stetson): 6-1, 6-3
Mell Reasco (Georgia) def. Bente Spee: 7-5, 6-3
Catherine Guliher (North Florida) def. No. 64 Marlee Zein: 6-3, 6-4
No. 66 Morgan Coppoc (Georgia) def. Sydney Berlin: 6-3, 6-3
No. 41 Carly Briggs def. Vic Allen (Florida State): 6-1, 6-7(1), 6-0
No. 84 Emma Shelton def. Isabel Oliveira (North Florida): 7-5, 6-2
Alicia Dudeney def. No. 94 Gia Cohen (Georgia Tech): 6-2, 6-0
MAIN DRAW DOUBLES
Briggs/Zein def. Tillitt/Courville (Mercer): 8-2
Dudeney/Berlin def. Cohen/Garcia Gross (Georgia Tech): 8-4
Umarova/Kabbaj (Florida International) def. Shelton/Spee: 8-2
NOTEABLES
– Berlin and Dudeney moved to 2-0 as a doubles pair on the season.
– Dudeney’s doubles record improved to 7-3 in the fall while Berlin now owns two victories at 2-3.
– Briggs and Zein sit at 1-0 as a pair, pushing Briggs’ fall doubles record to 4-1 and Zein earning her first win of the season.
– Dudeney’s victory over No. 94 Cohen was her second ranked win of the season and first not against a Gator teammate.
– Briggs’ two singles victories pushed her record for the fall back over .500 at 5-3.
– Shelton and Dudeney each both only hold one loss for the fall season, with Shelton sitting at 5-1 and Dudeney at a team-best 8-1.
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