Florida Women’s Tennis Falls To Ole Miss In Final Home Match

Ole Miss entered Sunday’s match in Gainesville coming off a 4-1 loss to Auburn on Friday and was determined to grab a win at a tough conference opponent to end the season.

However, Florida started Sunday’s match on a losing skid of four straight matches that dropped it below .500. With the final match at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex looming over the Gators (8-13, 4-11 SEC), the two Florida seniors played hard on senior day, but came up short, 6-1.

Doubles

UF freshmen Noémie Oliveras–Reagan Parker were set to play graduate Emily Welker-freshman Alice Soulié on court three, but defaulted their match as Florida hoped to sweep courts one and two.

UF seniors Alicia Dudeney–Bente Spee, the No. 32 pair in the nation, faced No. 31 seniors Ludmila Kareisová–Anaëlle Leclercq-Ficher on court one and got off to a hot start. The Florida seniors quickly grabbed a 2-0 lead and kept their momentum surging to 4-0. Dudeney-Spee looked unstoppable in their final doubles match at the Ring, grabbing a near-perfect 6-1 victory against their ranked opponents and leaving the doubles point to be decided on court two.

Junior Rachel Gailis-freshman Talia Neilson-Gatenby were broken in the first game by Ole Miss sophomore Andrea Nova-freshman Brooklyn Olson on court two, but battled right back to 3-1 with two breaks of their own. However, the Rebels wouldn’t go down easily and tied the match 3-3. From there, Ole Miss had the momentum and took a 5-4 lead that allowed them to clinch the doubles point with a 6-4 victory.

Singles Struggles

Looking to avenge a tough doubles loss, Florida entered singles with energy and played hard, but were stunted by a strong Ole Miss (14-11, 6-9 SEC) singles lineup.

Oliveras won the first game against Nova on court five, but lost six straight as the Ole Miss sophomore took the first set by storm. Oliveras retired from her match following her 6-1 loss in set one as Ole Miss took a commanding 2-0 lead.

Oliveras retires on court 5.

— Gators Women's Tennis (@GatorsWTN) April 13, 2025

Parker struggled against Olson on court six, falling in straight sets. Parker lost set one 6-2 before Olson swept her 6-0 in the second set to hand Parker her eighth straight singles loss and bring Ole Miss one point from victory, 3-0.

Spee faced fellow senior Lucie Petruzelova on court three, but struggled to win off her serve. Petruzelova swept Spee 6-0 in set one and nearly did the same in the second set, winning 6-1. The Rebels’ 6-0, 6-1 victory clinched the match for 4-0, as the final three singles courts continued play.

Continuing Play

No. 57 Dudeney dominated Kareisová on court two, making quick work of the Rebel in set one with a 6-2 win. Kareisová resisted harder in set two, but to no avail, as Dudeney won three straight games to pick up her 10th straight singles win and end her time at Florida with a bang. Additonally, Dudeney’s 6-2, 6-3 win added the Gators’ first point of the match, 4-1.

https://twitter.com/GatorsWTN/status/1911498538002850196

Neilson-Gatenby played well early against Soulié on court four, jumping to a 5-3 lead in set one. However, the Ole Miss freshman battled back to win four straight games and win set one 7-5 for the Rebels. Neilson-Gatenby quickly found herself trailing 3-0 in the second set but battled back to down only 4-3. However, Soulié stole Neilson-Gatenby’s chance to tie the match in the eight game, breaking the Gator to take  a 5-3 lead and regain the serve. It didn’t take long for the Ole Miss freshman to win her serve and clinch a 7-5, 6-3 victory against Neilson-Gatenby, moving the overall match score to 5-1 in favor of the Rebels.

No. 27 Gailis found herself trailing early in her court-one match against Welker. Down 4-0, Gailis battled back to down only 5-4 but couldn’t complete the miraculous comeback as she fell 6-4. The junior started better in the second set, tied 4-4 after eight games with Welker but was broke in the 11th game as the Ole Miss graduate took a 6-5 lead. Welker won 7-5 to earn Ole Miss its sixth point and end the Sunday’s match 6-1.

final from today #GoGators pic.twitter.com/bJ5mDCFjMy

— Gators Women's Tennis (@GatorsWTN) April 13, 2025

Post-Match Thoughts

Following the match, Dudeney reflected on her final apperance on the courts of the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.

“It feels very special,” Dudeney said. “My main goal today was more to go out there and have fun and make it a match to remember.

“I’m so glad that me and B [Bente Spee] got to play together in doubles and get the win and finish on a high. It’s been really fun playing with her all semester. Getting to be out there with Sam [Mannix] on my court in singles as well because she’s been with me through all of the matches throughout the semester and has helped me so much, so to get to finish with both of them as well as everyone else, was just really special.”

Dudeney also got to see her family on Sunday as they flew in from England to celebrate the Florida senior. The Hove native explained how “Getting to show them around the school and just be so proud that I get to spend my time here and graduate here and play for the team” is something truly special for her.

In addition, the senior revealed her passion for UF and what it means to her, to be a Gator.

“My idea of being a Florida Gator has changed a lot. When I first came I didn’t really know much about American college,” Dudeney said. “Through the years, I just feel like I’ve gained so much pride in  just being able to wear Florida Gators and go out there and compete for them.”

Up Next

Florida asssistant coach Samantha Mannix said transitioning a program into a new head coach is always difficult, but that she’s seen the Gators resilience and willingness to comptete in every match this season through the team’s highs and lows.

“Every time we’ve hit some of the lows, I’ve always tried to reinforce ‘It’s how you bounce back and its what you do after a mishap and I think this team has done a pretty good job of getting back up and trying their best and competing in every match,” Mannix said.

Florida will get a chance to do just that later this week, as the Gators hope to showcase resilience and bounce back from their recent five-game losing streak in their trip to the SEC tournament in Auburn, Ala., that begins Wednesday.