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The No. 21 Florida Gators women’s tennis team will continue play on the road Sunday at 10 a.m. against the Georgia Southern Eagles at Wallace Tennis Center in Satesboro, Georgia.
Early Season Checkup
Georgia Southern boasts a 4-1 record and has been on a tear as of late. The Eagles beat the NAIA Savannah College of Art and Design 7-0 Jan. 31 and trumped Kennesaw State 5-2 on Sunday. Next, they will face the College of Charleston Friday at 2 p.m. with the hopes of entering their match against Florida with a 5-1 record.
The Gators found success early on, defeating UNF and FIU, who was No. 25 at the time, 5-2 and 4-2 respectively. However, Florida has lost its last two matches by at least three points, falling to powerhouses No. 16 LSU and No. 7 Michigan.
After that loss to LSU at home, the Gators’ lost the momentum from their top-25 victory over FIU. They were swept by Michigan (7-0) in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, with Junior Rachel Gailis as the only Gator to win a set against a Wolverine.
Tennis Rankings
Despite its success early in the season, Georgia Southern is unranked and does not house any ranked players in singles or doubles.
Florida has one ranked pair in doubles, with Gailis and senior Alicia Dudeney sitting at No. 4. The duo has an 8-1 career record when paired in doubles, but have yet to team up in action this spring.
Gators at No. 2️⃣1️⃣
Gailis/Dudeney at No. 4️⃣#GoGators pic.twitter.com/hI2olwCXOr
— Gators Women's Tennis (@GatorsWTN) February 5, 2025
Despite their struggle against No. 7 Michigan, the Gators sit at No. 21 in the national rankings. The problem is in the SEC standings, where they currently sit at 16th.
The conference has rivals like Auburn, Mississippi State, and LSU sitting at 8-0, 6-0, and 5-0 respectively. Consequently, the Gators will need to get out of their slump to compete with those teams.
Grabbing its first road win this Sunday should help Florida get back into a positive position as they seek to climb the rankings.
Eagles Against Gators
Since starting the season 2-0, Florida has fallen to 2-2 and will look to get back in the win column on Sunday.
Georgia Southern has a match at the College of Charleston on Friday. The Eagles hope to grab the win over the Cougar’s to build momentum and move to 5-1 before heading home to host Florida.
The Gators will take on the Eagles Sunday at 10 a.m.
