Florida Women’s Tennis Falls At No. 6 Tennessee

Following a tough 4-0 loss at No. 10 Oklahoma on Sunday, Florida (8-10, 4-8 SEC) headed to Knoxville, Tenn., to take on the rival Volunteers, hungry to earn a win against a top-10 opponent.

However, No. 6 Tennessee (15-4, 9-3) has been a dominant force in the SEC this spring. Despite coming off a recent 4-1 loss to No. 2 Texas A&M, the Vols had been on a previous tear of five straight conference wins and continued their success against Florida with a dominant 5-2 win Friday.

Doubles

Freshmen Reagan Parker–Noémie Oliveras were no match for Tennessee freshmen Conley Raidt–Saray Yli-Piipari on court three. Already ahead 3-1, the Tennessee pair had no trouble winning points off the Gators’ serves and rushing to a 6-1 victory. The freshmen’s win gave the Volunteers an early advantage in doubles with court two closely following.

Florida junior Rachel Gailis-freshmen Talia Neilson-Gatenby couldn’t quite keep up with No. 38 juniors Catherine Auila–Leyla Britez Risso on court two as the Gators’ struggles continued. Tennessee’s 6-3 win secured them the doubles point to give the Volunteers a 1-0 lead entering singles play.

UF seniors Alicia Dudeney–Bente Spee, the No. 45 ranked doubles pair, trailed No. 50 senior Elza Tomase-sophomore Maeve Thornton 5-3 when the match was abandoned.

Clinching Singles

The Volunteers kept their momentum churning in singles, as they won four of the six first sets. Nearly immediately, Neilson-Gatenby was in over her head on court three against No. 69 Britez Risso. The freshman fell 6-2 in set one and didn’t fare any better in the second set when the ranked junior rushed to a straight set victory. Britez Risso’s 6-2, 6-1 win gave Tennessee an early 2-0 lead.

Oliveras struggled in her court five match against Yli-Piipari. Oliveras consistently played from behind and couldn’t catch up in a straight set loss. Her 6-4, 6-3 defeat earned the Volunteers their third unanswered point of the match, as Florida showed no sign of resistance.

No. 21 Gailis played well, but couldn’t get past No. 7 Tomase on court one. The top-ranked Volunteer defeated Gailis 6-3 in both sets one and two, extending her singles record to 22-10 and clinching the win for Tennessee, 4-0.

Continuing Play

Play continued and No. 75 Dudeney impressed in her court two upset of No. 34 Auila. Despite facing an opponent that had a 22-8 record, Dudeney bested her in straight sets. Her 6-3, 6-4 win showcased her dominance and secured the Gators a point, 4-1.

Dudeney clinches a point for the Gators ✅

defeated Aulia 6-3, 6-4

Tennessee 4⃣, UF 1⃣#GoGators pic.twitter.com/TJvZpoQtAx

— Gators Women's Tennis (@GatorsWTN) April 4, 2025

Parker made a valient effort to comeback against Tennessee freshman Elim Yan in set one on court six, but lost in a tiebreaker 7-4. Parker was out of it from there as Yan won six of the next eight games to pull out a straight set victory. The Gator’s 7-6(4), 6-3 loss pushed Tennessee ahead 5-1.

Spee defeated Thorton 7-5 in set one, but the Volunteer came rushing back to easily win set two 6-2. From there, an all-deciding super tiebreaker ensued and turned out to be a battle. Despite trailing 4-2, Spee remarkably scored eight straight points, racing to a 10-4 victory and adding Florida’s second point in its 5-2 loss.

Spee defeats Thornton in three, 7-5, 2-6, 10-4

Tennessee 5⃣, UF 2⃣#GoGators pic.twitter.com/HZqeZUvZH1

— Gators Women's Tennis (@GatorsWTN) April 4, 2025

Up Next

Florida plays at Kentucky at 1 p.m. Sunday.