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UF freshman Talia Neilson-Gatenby swings during a fall contest. Photo Credit: Bryce Mitchell - UAA Communications

Gators Women’s Tennis Hosts Ospreys To Start Season

Curan Ahern January 17, 2025 Gainesville, Gators Sports, Gators Tennis, Tennis 33 Views

The Florida Gators women’s tennis team opens its spring season Sunday when it hosts the UNF Ospreys at 1 p.m.

Last Season

The Gators look to continue their streak of winning seasons. They have finished with a winning record every season since 1981.

Florida is No. 19 in the ITA preseason ranking, coming off a strong performance last season that ended with it ranked No. 14.

After beating a strong South Carolina team in the quarterfinals (4-3) of last April’s SEC tournament, UF fell to powerhouse Texas A&M (4-2) in the semifinals. The Aggies went on to post an impressive 28-7 record last season, but fell to Georgia in the SEC Championship.

Two weeks following their SEC tournament exit, Florida entered the NCAA Tournament and dominated round one with a 4-0 sweep of Stetson.

However, Miami’s 4-3 comeback victory eliminated the Gators in the second round.

Fall Ball

Florida got back to work in September to prepare for the 2025 season, competing in a slew of invitationals and championships.

After three months of strong play for the Gators, Florida rounded out its fall season in November when it fell to No. 3 Virginia in a tiebreaker during the NCAA Semifinals.

Senior Alicia Dudeney and junior Rachel Gailis led Florida to this final-four finish and were ranked as the No. 3 doubles pair in the nation despite falling just short of the championship in doubles play.

Florida also entered the new year with mixed results when it hosted USF and FSU during the Florida Invitational on Jan. 11-12.

Despite losing all four doubles matches (three to FSU and one to USF), the Gators picked up nine straight singles victories to go undefeated in singles play.

Coaching Change

This season is Florida’s first with a new women’s tennis coach in nearly two decades.

Roland Thornqvist, who won four NCAA Championships and 12 SEC titles, stepped down in early October, and Per Nilsson was hired as the Gators’ coach on Oct. 29.

Nilsson is a native of Lund, Sweden, and has a career coaching record of 306-124.

The new coach spent 10 years as the women’s tennis coach at Pepperdine, where he won three Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Coach of the Year honors and secured 10-consecutive NCAA Tournament berths (including two semifinals and a runner-up performance).

Nilsson claims to like competitive pressure and looks to help Florida rise to an elite level again.

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