Gators Women’s Tennis Wins ITA Kickoff Championship

By Lacey Rogers and Michael Tubbs

The No. 8 Gators women’s tennis team won the ITA Kickoff Championship Sunday over No. 20 San Diego.

Florida remained undefeated at 3-0 and secured the team a spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.

https://twitter.com/ITA_Tennis/status/1751751761814302977

Day 1 Win

Florida faced Florida International University Saturday, starting with doubles.

Gators freshman duo Qavia Lopez and Malwina Rowinska won on Court 2. Senior Sara Dahlstrom and sophomore Rachel Gailis on Court 3 followed close behind, winning 6-3 to secure the doubles point for Florida.

However, singles points didn’t come easily for Florida. FIU sophomore Oyinlomo Quadre swept Florida junior Emily De Oliviera 6-3 and 6-0, while Lopez won 6-3 in both sets. Ekaterina Khairutdinova, a sophomore for FIU, topped graduate student Carly Briggs 6-2, 6-4, and junior Alicia Dudeney got the Gators’ second singles point after beating freshman Petja Drame 6-1, 6-4.

https://twitter.com/GatorsWTN/status/1751305933932654849

Gailis secured the final point for Florida after dominating her last two sets against freshman Valery Ginya, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

https://twitter.com/GatorsWTN/status/1751318125297930629

Championship Play

Florida’s resilience was tested in Sunday’s championship matchup against the San Diego Toreros. In the end, Florida pulled out a 4-3 victory.

Doubles

San Diego’s Kailey Evans and Kristina Nordikyan started strong with a 6-1 win over Dahlstrom and Gailis on Court 3. Lopez and Rowinska gave the Gators a chance by taking out Claudia De Las Heras and Jordyn McBride 6-3 on Court 2.

UF’s back was against the wall and San Diego’s Elizabeth Goldsmith and Mia Mack started with a 3-0 lead. Bente Spee and Dudeney would fight back and push their match to a tiebreaker. Florida came out on top to secure the doubles point, winning 7-6.

https://twitter.com/GatorsWTN/status/1751709693712777671

Finish what you started

The Toreros would tie the match up at 1-1 after Dahlstrom had to medically retire, giving Goldsmith the win. Evans would then give up the lead to San Diego after beating Rowinska 7-5, 6-2. The Gators’ odds were dwindling when McBride gave the Toreros their third point after defeating Lopez 7-6, 6-1.

A pair of big time wins for Kailey Evans and Jordyn McBride as we hold a 3-2 lead entering the home stretch!#GoToreros #ITAKickoff pic.twitter.com/MSVhyfss1p

— San Diego Women's Tennis (@USDwtennis) January 28, 2024

The Gators were now in a must-win situation for every match that remained. Dudeney started Florida’s run by beating Abigail Desiatnikov 6-3, 6-4. Mack would give Gator fans a scare by making a late push to send her match with Gailis to a third set. However, she finished her second set with a win and tied the event 3-3 between the Gators and Toreros. Gailis beat Mack 6-3, 7-6.

De Las Heras was in a strong spot to win the championship for San Diego. She defeated Briggs 7-6 in the first set and was up 5-3 in the second. All she needed was one more game and it would be over. Briggs knew that and understood what she needed to do. She was able to push the second set to a tiebreaker and won 7-6 sending the match to a third and final set. De Las Heras won the first game, but would never win a second. Briggs came out on top winning the final set 6-1.

Got the WIN. #GoGators | @WellsFargo | #ITAKickoff pic.twitter.com/dzGYydjwQD

— Gators Women's Tennis (@GatorsWTN) January 28, 2024

The Gators’ next matchup is Saturday at 5 p.m. against Florida State in Lake Nona, Florida.