Florida Women’s Tennis Falls To LSU

Florida entered Friday’s SEC matchup with No. 11 LSU on a three-game losing skid and couldn’t seem to rally a winning effort against the top-ranked Tigers on a blue-skied, breezy evening in Gainesville.

LSU (20-5, 10-4 SEC) traveled to Florida (8-12, 4-10) prepared to right the wrong of a 4-1 loss to No. 8 Oklahoma last Sunday, and did just that. The Tigers’ commanding 4-2 victory against the Gators marked Florida’s fourth straight loss and LSU’s 10th conference win.

Doubles

UF freshmen Noémie Oliveras–Reagan Parker got off to a rough start on court three against LSU freshman Tilwith Di Girolami-fifth year Gaby Rivera, as the Tigers won three straight games. The LSU pair never slowed down en route to the 6-3 victory to take an early advantage in doubles.

Seniors Alicia Dudeney–Bente Spee, now the No. 32 ranked double in the nation, played Cadence Brace–Kinaa Graham on court one in a back-and-forth battle. UF broke the LSU pair early, but the Tigers answered by taking the Gators’ serve. UF continued to fight for every point and found itself up 5-2 before LSU battled back to 5-4. However, Florida’s top-ranked duo outlasted LSU to take a 6-4 victory and even doubles play.

Junior Rachel Gailis-freshman Talia Neilson-Gatenby played a tough No. 71 Kenna Erickson–Anita Sahiieva on court two and couldn’t clinch the doubles point. Despite stealing a point from LSU in a valiant effort to come back, Gailis-Neilson-Gatenby fell 6-4 as LSU clinched the doubles point.

Singles Before the Storm

Entering singles play with a 1-0 lead, LSU kept up the pressure as storm clouds rolled in.

No. 27 Gailis dropped set one 6-2 to No. 21 Brace before a thunderous clap sent the match into a delay. Parker also dropped her first set, 6-2 to Rivera, but Neilson-Gatenby won set one, 6-3, against Graham on court four and Oliveras won set one against Erickson, 6-2, on court five.

No. 57 Dudeney trailed Di Girolami 5-4 in set one while Spee led Sahdiieva 4-3 in the first set when play was suspended.

Play moved indoors to complete the match after more than an hour and half of downtime for the players and momentum seemed to shift.

Indoor Singles

Dudeney quickly lost the first set 6-4 while Spee got right back to work against Sahdiieva, besting the LSU senior 6-3 in set one. However, Dudeney bounced right back, rallying to a 6-1 victory in set two, while Spee lost her second set 6-2.

Dudeney carried her momentum into the third set to storm past Di Girolami 6-1 yet again. The Florida senior’s 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory marked Florida’s first point and tied the match 1-1 more than four hours after it began as scheduled.

Dudeney won her match 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 def. Twilith Di Girolami

UF 1️⃣ l LSU 1️⃣

— Gators Women's Tennis (@GatorsWTN) April 12, 2025

Despite winning the first set, Spee lost her court three singles match when Sahdiieva came charging back in sets two and three. With the point hanging in the balance of a third set, the Tigers’ surging momentum got Spee off balance and the Gator couldn’t recover. Spee’s 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 loss gave LSU a 2-1 edge as play continued past 10 p.m.

Neilson-Gatenby picked up right where she left off against Graham, quickly winning the second set 6-3 to clinch a straight-set victroy. The Florida freshman’s impressive 6-3, 6-3 victory tied the match 2-2 with three singles matches left to play.

Coming Up Short

Gailis showcased heart in her court one match against Brace, forcing a third set with a 6-4 set two victory. However, her ranked opponent proved to be too much for Gailis, as Brace won in three sets with a grueling 7-5 victory in set three. The freshman’s 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 victory moved LSU one point from victory, 3-2.

From there, Parker lost her match in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. Rivera had no trouble sweeping the freshman in set two, clinching the match for LSU.

final from the swamp #GoGators pic.twitter.com/lgY5l1gis3

— Gators Women's Tennis (@GatorsWTN) April 12, 2025

Oliveras went unfinished one game away from a straight set victory on court five, 6-2, 5-2, as LSU clinched the win nearly six hours after the match’s scheduled start time.

Up Next

Florida will stay in Gainesville and look to bounce back against Ole Miss on Sunday at 1 p.m. in its final match of the regular season.