No. 21 Florida Women’s Tennis Visits Powerhouse No. 5 Auburn

The No. 21 Florida Gators women’s tennis team will head to Auburn to face the No. 5 Tigers Sunday at 1 p.m.

Gators Gaining Momentum

Florida (3-2) is coming off a decisive win over Georgia Southern (6-1) on Feb. 9 that featured an impressive doubles sweep from Florida freshmen Nikola Daubnerova and Talia Neilson-Gatenby, and notable singles wins from Rachel Gailis, Bente Spee, Noémie Oliveras, Neilson-Gatenby and Daubnerova.

The Gators lost only one of 13 total sets played in their match against Georgia Southern, which bodes well for their momentum and court-presence heading into Auburn this weekend and their ensuing conference play.

Tigers a Top Contender

Auburn (11-1) has been near perfect so far this season, entering Sunday’s match ranked fifth in the nation.

After starting their season on a terrific 9-0 tear, defeating ranked teams like then-No. 3 OSU and No. 4 Sanford, the Tigers fell to Georgia 4-1 on Feb. 8 during the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Illinois.

Despite dropping the match to Georgia, Auburn bounced back with commanding victories over No. 8 UNC (now No. 7) and Kansas State to gain momentum heading into Sunday’s battle with the Gators.

ITA Rankings

The ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings have Florida at No. 21 while Auburn holds the fifth spot.

While Florida does not have any players ranked by the ITA in singles, Auburn houses No. 2 DJ Bennett, No. 22 Merna Refaat, No. 58 Angella Okutoyi and No. 116 Ava Hrastar.

In doubles, Florida’s Alicia Dudeny and Gailis sit at No. 4 in the rankings, while Auburn’s Bennett-Hrastar and Okutoyi-Refaat are positioned at No. 12 and No. 15, respectively.

On the Road

Florida has not (and will not) played a match at home in the month of February as the Gators compete in their third straight road contest on Sunday.

The Gators will follow their match at Auburn with two more tough road matches in a one-week span—at South Carolina and at Georgia—making Florida’s trip to Auburn a key early season road test to build momentum moving into March.