Results (PDF)
 
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Taking on its fourth-straight top 25 foe and its second-straight away from home, the No. 27 University of Florida women's tennis team battled but dropped a 4-2 match to No. 21 Tennessee Sunday afternoon in Knoxville.
 
Falling to 3-3 in conference play, the Gators received singles wins from their top two competitors as No. 32 McCartney Kessler and junior Marlee Zein registered victories on the day.
 
For the second time in as many matches, the Gators fell behind after conceding the doubles point. The Gators hung tough though with a competitive effort in singles and were in the matchup until the very end. 
 
Battling their seventh ranked opponent in 11 matches, Florida (5-6, 3-3) came up short against the Volunteers (9-4, 3-2), who improved to 7-0 at home.
 
Another highlight for the Gators was the performance of Kessler and Zein on the doubles circuit as their top pairing registered their seventh-straight win together.
 
UF started the matchup locked in in doubles play, claiming the opening game on all three courts but soon fell behind on the second and third courts. Tennessee posted the first doubles win of the day when Tenika McGiffin and Carly Briggs defeated Florida's No. 2 team of Ida Jarlskog and Sara Dahlstrom, 6-2. After the second court fell, both remaining contests were close ones that ended in 7-5 finals. The next court went in favor of the Gators as No. 26 Kessler and Zein battled to a hard-fought 6-4 victory over Esther Adeshina and Daria Kuczer. The doubles point came down to court three where Layne Sleeth and Sydney Berlin stormed back to tie things at 5-5 after trailing 5-2. Despite the impressive rally, the Gator duo came up short to Molinaro and Mertena as the Vols claimed the opening tally.
 
In singles, Florida took the first two opening sets on one and six. Florida's top competitor No. 32 Kessler started off the scoring with a 6-2, 7-5 victory. The senior fell behind 5-2 in the second set but rallied all the way back to pick up her team-best seventh dual match win. Court four's verdict was established soon after as Dahlstrom dropped a 6-2, 6-4 decision to UT's McGiffin. Dahlstrom fought hard in the second set but fell short as the Volunteers jumped ahead with a 2-1 advantage.
 
Zein helped the Gators answer back and equalize the tally at 2-2 with a 7-6, 6-4 victory from the second court. Taking on No. 118 Carly Briggs, Zein persevered in a tight first set and held on in the second frame to record her third win over a ranked foe this season.
 
With the score knotted at 2-2, Florida would need to secure wins on two of the final three courts to come out on top. Of those matchups, the Gators trailed in two second sets and Berlin had pushed her match to a third set.
 
Tennessee took back its lead when Daria Kuczer edged out No. 65 Sleeth, 6-3, 7-5 on court five. Sleeth fought to tie the second at 4-4, but couldn't complete the comeback as she fell to 3-1 in dual match play.
 
The match came down to the action on courts three and six.
 
Battling back to force a third set, Jarlskog extended the match and put some pressure on UT but the Volunteers clinched the win on court six where Berlin dropped a three-set affair to No. 85 Johanna Silva. Berlin won the opening set 6-2 and led 5-2 in the second but wasn't able to close out the nationally-ranked Silva, who provided the match-sealing victory.
 
The senior Jarlskog saw her match go unfinished at 4-6, 7-6, 1-2.
 
UP NEXT: The Gators return home to host Missouri and Arkansas on March 12 and March 14, respectively.

No. 21 Tennessee 4, No. 27 Florida 2
Doubles Results
No. 26 McCartney Kessler and Marlee Zein (UF) def. Esther Adeshina and Daria Kucze, 7-5
Tenika McGiffin and Carly Briggs def. Ida Jarlskog and Sara Dahlstrom (UF), 6-2
Eleonora Molinaro and Rebeka Mertena def. Sydney Berlin and Layne Sleeth (UF). 7-5

Doubles order of finish: 2,1,3

Singles Results
No. 32 McCartney Kessler (UF) def. Eleonora Molinaro, 6-2, 7-5
Marlee Zein (UF) def. No. 118 Carly Briggs, 7-6, 6-4
Ida Jarlskog  (UF) vs. No. 52 Rebeka Mertena, 4-6, 7-6, 1-2 (Unfinished)
Tenika McGiffin def. Sara Dahlstrom (UF), 6-2, 6-4
Daria Kuczer def. No. 65 Layne Sleeth (UF), 6-3, 7-5
No. 85 Johanna Silva def. Sydney Berlin (UF), 2-6, 7-6, 6-3

Singles order of finish: 1, 4, 2,5,6

Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
Overall thoughts on the match…
"Another absolute nail-biter where we're inches short. It's clear we are good enough to win most of the matches we've lost which I know is very frustrating. This league is unforgiving in its competitiveness so we have to continue to get better during the week with another challenge at home next weekend. We have great leadership at the top 3 spots and they will make sure we keep our eyes on the ball starting Tuesday. On the bright side is the maturation on McCartney (Kessler) at 1. She's a pro and the rest of the team can see the fruits of her labor over the years in how she now has become one of the best players in the country."

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