No. 18 Gators Women’s Tennis Conquers FSU

The No. 18 Florida Gators Women’s Tennis team defeated in-state rivals FSU 4-1 on Thursday in Gainesville. The win marked the Gators’ fourth-straight victory over Florida State.

GATORS ON TOP ‼

UF 4, FSU 1#GoGators pic.twitter.com/cIoMYdO17B

— Gators Women's Tennis (@GatorsWTN) February 10, 2023

Gators Go Down in Doubles

The night didn’t start exactly how Florida planned. The duo of Carly Briggs and Alicia Dudeney were defeated on Court One 6-2. Shortly after, Emma Shelton and Sophie Williams lost 6-3 on Court Three and the Seminoles clinched the doubles point.  

https://twitter.com/GatorsWTN/status/1623806445446914048

The Gators would hope for a strong showing in singles, needing 4 out of 6 matches to win the dual match.

Dominant Singles Play

No. 97 Alicia Dudeney was the first on the board for the orange and blue. She dispatched Mila Saric of FSU 6-4, 6-2,  despite a close first set to tie the Seminoles at 1-1.

Singles update:

Liss ties it up on ✌!

1⃣ #55 Carly Briggs ⬆️ 6-4, 2-5
✅ #97 Alicia Dudeney, 6-4, 6-2
3⃣ #76 Sara Dahlstrom ↔️ 4-6, 6-0, 0-2
4⃣ Rachel Gailis ↔️ 4-6, 6-0, 2-0
5⃣ #104 Anastasia Sysoeva ⬇️ 5-7, 4-1
6⃣ #118 Emily De Oliveira ⬆️ 6-4, 4-1

UF 1, FSU 1#GoGators pic.twitter.com/geUFxiznGI

— Gators Women's Tennis (@GatorsWTN) February 9, 2023

Soon after, No. 118 Emily De Olivera put the Gators up 2-1. The sophomore, like Dudeney, pulled out a tight 6-4 first set victory. She cruised to a 5-1 lead in the second set but saw herself down 0-40 in the seventh game. She rallied back to deuce and won the match via a marathon final point that lasted 6 minutes.

Singles update:

No biggie… just Emily's 11th straight win for the lead!

1⃣ #55 Carly Briggs ↔️ 6-4, 4-6, 1-0
3⃣ #76 Sara Dahlstrom ↔️ 4-6, 6-0, 3-3
4⃣ Rachel Gailis ↔️ 4-6, 6-0, 4-2
5⃣ #104 Anastasia Sysoeva ↔️ 5-7, 6-2
✅ #118 Emily De Oliveira, 6-4, 6-1

UF 2, FSU 1 pic.twitter.com/llRYdGZTpL

— Gators Women's Tennis (@GatorsWTN) February 10, 2023

After dropping the first set 6-4, No.76 Sara Dahlstrom bageled her opponent in the second set to send the match to a deciding set. Dahlstrom was able to pull away in the end with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory on court three to put Florida up 3-1.

Singles update:

Gators need ☝️ more! Sara with a big three-set win!

1⃣ #55 Carly Briggs ↔️ 6-4, 4-6, 4-0
✅ #76 Sara Dahlstrom, 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
4️⃣ Rachel Gailis ⬆ 4-6, 6-0, 5-4
5⃣ #104 Anastasia Sysoeva ↔️ 5-7, 6-2, 1-2

UF 3, FSU 1#GoGators pic.twitter.com/4Ow8WTiFJ6

— Gators Women's Tennis (@GatorsWTN) February 10, 2023

Needing just one more win to seal the victory, the Gators turned to Rachel Gailis. The freshman, like Dahlstrom, dropped the opening set 6-4. She also won the second set 6-0 to set up a third set in which she clinched the win over the Seminoles with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 victory on Court Four.

Next for Florida Women’s Tennis

The Gators will stay at home as they take on No. 8 Pepperdine on Wednesday, Feb. 22.