Tennis
The Florida Gators Women's Tennis team defeated Florida State University on February 9, 2023. (Photo by Gabriella Whisler/UAA Communications)

No. 18 Gators Women’s Tennis Conquers FSU

The No. 18 Florida Gators Women’s Tennis team defeated in-state rivals FSU 4-1 on Thursday in Gainesville. The win marked the Gators’ fourth-straight victory over Florida State.

Gators Go Down in Doubles

The night didn’t start exactly how Florida planned. The duo of Carly Briggs and Alicia Dudeney were defeated on Court One 6-2. Shortly after, Emma Shelton and Sophie Williams lost 6-3 on Court Three and the Seminoles clinched the doubles point.  

https://twitter.com/GatorsWTN/status/1623806445446914048

The Gators would hope for a strong showing in singles, needing 4 out of 6 matches to win the dual match.

Dominant Singles Play

No. 97 Alicia Dudeney was the first on the board for the orange and blue. She dispatched Mila Saric of FSU 6-4, 6-2,  despite a close first set to tie the Seminoles at 1-1.

Soon after, No. 118 Emily De Olivera put the Gators up 2-1. The sophomore, like Dudeney, pulled out a tight 6-4 first set victory. She cruised to a 5-1 lead in the second set but saw herself down 0-40 in the seventh game. She rallied back to deuce and won the match via a marathon final point that lasted 6 minutes.

After dropping the first set 6-4, No.76 Sara Dahlstrom bageled her opponent in the second set to send the match to a deciding set. Dahlstrom was able to pull away in the end with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory on court three to put Florida up 3-1.

Needing just one more win to seal the victory, the Gators turned to Rachel Gailis. The freshman, like Dahlstrom, dropped the opening set 6-4. She also won the second set 6-0 to set up a third set in which she clinched the win over the Seminoles with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 victory on Court Four.

Next for Florida Women’s Tennis

The Gators will stay at home as they take on No. 8 Pepperdine on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

About Jake Bower

Sophomore journalism major at the University of Florida.

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