ATLANTA – Florida women's tennis put together an impressive opening day of competition in the main draw at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Southeast Regional, collecting nine victories on Friday.
Competition in the main draw got underway with doubles in the morning, leading to three early Gators' victories. The duo of
Rachel Gailis and
Bente Spee got things started on the right foot, taking down Florida Gulf Coast's Emma Bardet and Ida Ferding, 8-4.
Not soon after,
Emily De Oliveira and
Sophie Williams claimed the second victory of the day for Florida. It wasn't easy for the sophomore and freshman pair, however, as they found themselves in a back-and-forth affair with Georgia Southern's Silvia Martinez and Lindsay Tulenko. The Gators didn't flinch in the high-pressure scenario, outlasting the opposition for an 8-7(4) win.
The final doubles victory of the day came from the veterans
Carly Briggs and
Alicia Dudeney. Matched up with Florida Atlantic's Carla Galmiche and Amber McGinnis, the Orange & Blue managed to pull away to claim the match, 8-4.
Continuing to ride momentum,
Carly Briggs,
Rachel Gailis and
Anastasia Sysoeva earned opening round singles victories in the main draw. Briggs, a senior leader for the Gators, earned a hard-fought win to start singles competition, defeating Stetson's Anais Gabriel in a three-set battle. After claiming the opening frame, 6-3, the opposition managed to even the match behind a 6-4 effort. Set three was a clinic for Briggs, earning the decisive 6-0 win to take the set and match.
She followed that performance with an impressive effort against Ekaterina Khairutdinova of Florida International. Needing a victory to advance to the round of 16 of the Regionals, Briggs delivered a 6-3, 6-4 match to setup a matchup with Georgia's Dasha Vidmanova who is ranked No. 79 in the country.
Also taking a straight-set victory to begin her time at Regionals, Gailis met Georgia Tech's Kate Sharabura in the opening round. After pulling away from a 6-4 first set, the freshman solidified her win with a 6-3 second set victory.
Gailis also put together a strong performance later in the evening to advance to Saturday's round of 16, defeating Alice Amendola of Florida State in straight sets: 6-2, 6-4, to set the stage for a match with No. 26 Lea Ma of Georgia.
Facing off with Michelle Ncube of Georgia State, Sysoeva took a straight-set victory in the round of 64, earning a 6-1, 6-4 victory to setup a showdown with No. 16 Carol Lee later in the evening. Lee would get the better of the freshman, however, defeating Sysoeva 6-1, 6-4 in the round of 32.
Doubles are slated to begin at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday while singles will follow.
Main Draw Singles
Anastasia Sysoeva def. Michelle Ncube (Georgia State): 6-1, 6-4
No. 16 Carol Lee (Georgia Tech) def.
Anastasia Sysoeva: 6-1, 6-4
Grace Schumacher (South Florida) def.
Emma Shelton: 4-6, 7-6(0), 6-2
Carly Briggs def. Anais Gabriel (Stetson): 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
Carly Briggs def. Ekaterina Khairutdinova (Florida International): 6-3, 6-4
Katerina Filip (Florida Atlantic) def.
Emily De Oliveira: 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
Rachel Gailis def. Kate Sharabura (Georgia Tech): 6-4, 6-3
Rachel Gailis def. Alice Amendola (Florida State): 6-2, 6-4
Rosie Garcia Ross (Georgia Tech) def.
Bente Spee: 6-4, 6-2
Consolation Singles
Emily De Oliveira def. Taylor Dean (Kennesaw State): 6-3, 6-3
Qualifying Draw Singles
Sara Rakim (Florida A&M) def.
Sophie Williams: 7-5, 7-5
Main Draw Doubles
Rachel Gailis/
Bente Spee def. Emma Bardet/Ida Ferding (Florida Gulf Coast): 8-4
Emily de Oliveira/
Sophie Williams def. Silvia Martinez/Lindsay Tulenko (Georgia Southern): 8-7(4)
Maya Tahan/Isabella Pfennig (Miami) def.
Emma Shelton/
Anastasia Sysoeva: 8-3
Carly Briggs/
Alicia Dudeney def. Carla Galmiche/Amber McGinnis (Florida Atlantic): 8-4
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