The NCAA Division I Individual Tennis Tournament kicked off Monday, and three Gators were in action: senior Carly Briggs, junior Sara Dahlstrom and graduate-student Axel Nefve. Briggs punched her ticket to advance to the round of 32, but Dahlstrom was eliminated.
Recapping Carly Briggs’ Matchup
The No.45-ranked Florida senior matched up against No. 30 Ohio State sophomore Sydni Ratliff Monday morning. Briggs jolted out the gates in the first set and gained a comfortable 4-1 lead. The Briggs looked in total control of the matchup until the sophomore completely shifted tides. Ratliff evened the score to five apiece and forced a tiebreaker game in the first set. Briggs regathered her composure and let up just one point in the final tiebreaker game for a 7-6 (1) first-set victory.
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The Florida senior refused to let up her momentum as the competitors entered the second set and distanced herself with a 4-1 lead. Briggs defeated the Ohio State sophomore 6-3 in the second set for her first career NCAA individual tournament victory. The senior is set to advance to the round of 32 where she’ll face No. 65 Notre Dame senior Page Freeman.
Recapping Sara Dahlstrom’s matchup
Dahlstrom took singles competition by storm during Florida’s 2023 Spring season. In 2022, the junior competed at the bottom of the Gator’s lineup in the fourth through sixth singles courts and finished the season unranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Everything changed in March of 2023.
Dahlstrom played her first matchup on the No. 1 court on March 17 against Vanderbilt sophomore Celia-Belle Mohr. The junior rebounded from a first-set loss and defeated the sophomore 2-6, 6-3, 10-4. Since the victory, Dahlstrom is 7-4 in the first position of singles, finished her season with a 17-7 record overall and came in ranked No. 17 by the ITA.
The No. 17-ranked Florida player competed against No. 1 North Carolina junior Fiona Crawley. Dahlstrom jumped out of the gates early and held a slim 2-1 lead to enter the fourth game. The All-SEC player exchanged blows and swatted a forehand to win the game and extend her advantage to 3-1. Crawley slowly began to chip away at the lead and when the score favored Dahlstrom 4-3, the UNC junior stole the final three games for a 6-4 first-set victory.
Crawley carried her edge into the second set and defeated the junior in straight sets 6-4, 6-1. The loss ended Dahlstrom’s impressive 2023 season.
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Florida’s Axel Nefve is currently competing for the men’s team against Florida State junior Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc. Briggs will resume her singles run against Freeman, and sophomores Bente Spee/Alicia Dudeney and Nefve/William Freeman compete for the Gators in the NCAA doubles tournament. All three matchups take place Tuesday in Orlando, Florida.