Final Results (PDF)
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Florida women's tennis team posted two singles victories and two doubles wins as it launched its 2020 fall campaign Friday afternoon at the SEC Challenge played at the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium. Four UF student-athletes competed individually against the Crimson Tide in the four-team tournament.
Both
Sydney Berlin and
Sara Dahlstrom registered wins in both singles and doubles while
Marlee Zein and
McCartney Kessler paired together to post a win on the doubles circuit.
The Gators opened up doubles play with a victory as Berlin and Dahlstrom, playing together for the first time, added a 6-1 triumph over Moka Ito and Sasha Gorchanyuk. The match was a convincing verdict for the Gator duo as they won in less than 30 minutes. On UF's other doubles court, Kessler and Zein cruised to a victory by an identical tally of 6-1, defeating Isabella Harvison and Vanesa Nikolovova.
After kick starting the day with her first-ever doubles win, the freshman from Sweden Dahlstrom, was equally as dominant in singles, notching a victory at a 6-2, 6-0 tally.
Despite a back-and-forth opening set, Zein fell in a 7-6, 6-2 decision to UA's Harvison. But the Gators would end the day in the win column thanks to a momentous comeback from Berlin. Berlin fell behind early and conceded the first set 6-1 to Sydney Riley. The Buffalo, N.Y. native stormed back and equalized with 6-4 victory in set two and then in the winner-take-all third stanza, Berlin sealed the deal by claiming the final frame 6-3.
The Gators return to action Saturday morning at 11 a.m. ET to take on Georgia.
Results
Friday, Oct. 9
Doubles
Sydney Berlin and
Sara Dahlstrom def
. Moka Ito and Sasha Gorchanyuk (Alabama) - 6-1
McCartney Kessler and
Marlee Zein def. Isabella Harvison and Vanesa Nikolovova (Alabama) - 6-1
Singles
Isabella Harvison (Alabama) def.
Marlee Zein - 7-6, 6-2
Sydney Berlin def. Sydney Riley (Alabama) – 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
Sara Dahlstrom def. Anna Parkhomenko (Alabama) – 6-2, 6-0
Schedule
Saturday, Oct. 10
(all times listed in ET)
Florida/Miss State vs. Georgia at 11 a.m.
Schedule
Sunday, Oct. 11
(all times listed in ET)
Florida/Miss State vs. Kentucky at 10 a.m.
Quotes from the Court
Overall thoughts on the team's season-opening match…
"I thought we played really really well in doubles. We were very clean in doubles play, we made a lot of first serves and made a ton of returns. Which you know, the first day back to competition, it's really important that you don't take unnecessary risks. Because nobody is really sharp when you start. I thought we did that in doubles, we played well together.
Singles, obviously the highlight of the day was the play of Sara (Dahlstrom) who just literally got here last week. She was fantastic. She had a lot of energy and hit the ball really clean with great power. She used it wisely today. I know she was nervous going into today's matches but I thought she handled it really well.
Sydney (Berlin) began not playing great, a little nervous and a little tentative, but she stayed positive and found a way to play better tennis as the match went on. At the end, I thought she was very good and very efficient. Her balls were out of the center of the court and her forehand dominated. That's what we want her to do.
Marlee (Zein) fought hard, it was an uphill battle from the get go. She played, in my opinion, Alabama's best player. She put us under pressure from the first ball. Marlee was not sharp enough to stay in the rally enough to break through. We had our chances with a tie break loss in the first, but I think she will play better and feel more comfortable competing tomorrow.
Overall I'm pleased with the first day."
On the team responding well after a long layoff from competition…
"I really was proud of the way they competed. To be honest in doubles, we haven't done a lot of work and sometimes when you're nervous and you haven't competed in a while, in doubles you don't get to see the ball every point so it's hard to be efficient and clean in your play. But I thought we really were. We concentrated on serves and returns and then everything sort of fell in behind that. That was key for us today. At this point we're just excited to be able to be here and compete and we are learning some stuff about our players that we are continuing to focus on. I'm super pleased."
On Sara Dahlstrom's performance…
"Obviously we knew when we recruited her that she has a big game. She hits the ball very clean. She has a lot of pace on the ball. But you don't really know about the little things. How is she competing when the score is close? How does she process information when we try to coach her on the sideline? And all those things we are going to get a much clearer picture of as the weekend moves on. I know how much it meant for her to play today. She was sort of telling us throughout the week that she had some jitters going into this weekend. So the fact that she was able to play at such a high level day one is a great sign. She's going to be a really really key player for the Gators for four years. She has a big game and a great attitude. She's a hardworker and when you get all that mixed in together usually you got some real magic on your hands."
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