Friday, April 1
Lexington, KY
12 PM
Florida Gators
5
at
2
Kentucky
No. 16 Gators Hold-Off Wildcats for SEC Road Victory
Friday, April 1, 2022 | Women's Tennis
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After having to move indoors due to weather in Kentucky, No. 16 Florida women's tennis rose to the occasion and earned a hard-fought 5-2 Southeastern Conference victory over the No. 63 Wildcats.
The Gators (15-4, 7-2 SEC) found themselves in a battle right away with the Wildcats (12-9, 0-8 SEC) in doubles competition. Kentucky delivered the opening blow, as Fiona Arrese and Ellie Eades downed McCartney Kessler and Marlee Zein at the top spot, 6-4.
Needing to bounce-back, the all-freshman duo, and 34th-ranked team, of Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee evened the score in doubles, pulling away from Carla Girbau and Lidia Gonzalez for the 6-3 win. It would be the Wildcats, however, that would take the doubles point, after Carlota Molina and Florencia Urrutia outlasted Carly Briggs and Emma Shelton in a close matchup, 7-6(7).
Florida stormed back to take the lead in singles competition, with McCartney Kessler racing out to a 6-0 lead on court one. Her opponent, Urrutia, fought back in the second set to even the set at 5-5, but Kessler put together back-to-back wins to claim her 11th-consecutive and 100th-career singles victory.
Dudeney, a freshman from Hove, United Kingdom, played a crucial role in helping the Gators reclaim the lead on Friday afternoon. After falling behind early in the first set, Dudeney came surging back to capture the opener, 6-4, before dominating in set two for a 6-1 win.
Kentucky wouldn't go away easily, using a close court two victory to even the match once again. After falling behind, 4-6, following the opening frame, No. 58 Zein put pressure on Molina in the second set, taking the opportunity to make it 1-1 following a 6-3 win. It would be Molina, however, who would come out on top after a 6-2 final set.
The momentum was short-lived for the Wildcats, as Briggs solidified a comeback victory at the three singles position. Defeating Girbau, Briggs fell behind rather quickly, dropping the first set, 3-6. The junior bounced back to even the score, remaining in control during a 6-2 second set before finding herself in a close 4-4 third set late in the match. The Calhoun, Ga., native was able to break her opposition to win back-to-back games and claim the match, 6-4.
In perhaps the most impressive performance of the day, Sara Dahlstrom played clincher for the Orange & Blue on court five. Dahlstrom wasted no time in capturing the lead and never looked back, taking down Eades: 6-1, 6-3, for the sweep on Friday afternoon.
Shelton secured a 5-2 victory for UF, wrapping up the day with another comeback win on court six. After falling in a tightly contested opener (7-6(1)), Shelton used a 6-4 score in the second set to tie the match at one. With the match already decided, a 10-point tiebreaker would act as the third set, with Shelton securing the win, 10-6.
The Gators will be back in action on Sunday when they travel to Nashville, Tenn., for a 1 p.m. ET matchup with No. 41 Vanderbilt.
SINGLES
No. 22 McCartney Kessler def. Florencia Urrutia: 6-0, 7-5
Carlota Molina def. No. 58 Marlee Zein: 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Carly Briggs def. Carla Girbau: 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
Alicia Dudeney def. Fiona Arrese: 6-4, 6-1
Sara Dahlstrom def. Ellie Eades: 6-1, 6-3
Emma Shelton def. Maialen Morante: 6-7(1), 6-4, 10-6
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 2, 3, 5, 6
DOUBLES
Fiona Arrese/Ellie Eades def. McCartney Kessler/Marlee Zein: 6-4
No. 34 Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee def. Carla Girbau/Lidia Gonzalez: 6-3
Carlota Molina/Florencia Urrutia def. Carly Briggs/Emma Shelton: 7-6 (7)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
"That was very high drama and I was really happy to see Carly step up and put the team on her back today. It's a really difficult place to play and although we struggled at times, overall I thought we handled the pressure pretty well."
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The Gators (15-4, 7-2 SEC) found themselves in a battle right away with the Wildcats (12-9, 0-8 SEC) in doubles competition. Kentucky delivered the opening blow, as Fiona Arrese and Ellie Eades downed McCartney Kessler and Marlee Zein at the top spot, 6-4.
Needing to bounce-back, the all-freshman duo, and 34th-ranked team, of Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee evened the score in doubles, pulling away from Carla Girbau and Lidia Gonzalez for the 6-3 win. It would be the Wildcats, however, that would take the doubles point, after Carlota Molina and Florencia Urrutia outlasted Carly Briggs and Emma Shelton in a close matchup, 7-6(7).
Florida stormed back to take the lead in singles competition, with McCartney Kessler racing out to a 6-0 lead on court one. Her opponent, Urrutia, fought back in the second set to even the set at 5-5, but Kessler put together back-to-back wins to claim her 11th-consecutive and 100th-career singles victory.
Dudeney, a freshman from Hove, United Kingdom, played a crucial role in helping the Gators reclaim the lead on Friday afternoon. After falling behind early in the first set, Dudeney came surging back to capture the opener, 6-4, before dominating in set two for a 6-1 win.
Kentucky wouldn't go away easily, using a close court two victory to even the match once again. After falling behind, 4-6, following the opening frame, No. 58 Zein put pressure on Molina in the second set, taking the opportunity to make it 1-1 following a 6-3 win. It would be Molina, however, who would come out on top after a 6-2 final set.
The momentum was short-lived for the Wildcats, as Briggs solidified a comeback victory at the three singles position. Defeating Girbau, Briggs fell behind rather quickly, dropping the first set, 3-6. The junior bounced back to even the score, remaining in control during a 6-2 second set before finding herself in a close 4-4 third set late in the match. The Calhoun, Ga., native was able to break her opposition to win back-to-back games and claim the match, 6-4.
In perhaps the most impressive performance of the day, Sara Dahlstrom played clincher for the Orange & Blue on court five. Dahlstrom wasted no time in capturing the lead and never looked back, taking down Eades: 6-1, 6-3, for the sweep on Friday afternoon.
Shelton secured a 5-2 victory for UF, wrapping up the day with another comeback win on court six. After falling in a tightly contested opener (7-6(1)), Shelton used a 6-4 score in the second set to tie the match at one. With the match already decided, a 10-point tiebreaker would act as the third set, with Shelton securing the win, 10-6.
The Gators will be back in action on Sunday when they travel to Nashville, Tenn., for a 1 p.m. ET matchup with No. 41 Vanderbilt.
SINGLES
No. 22 McCartney Kessler def. Florencia Urrutia: 6-0, 7-5
Carlota Molina def. No. 58 Marlee Zein: 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Carly Briggs def. Carla Girbau: 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
Alicia Dudeney def. Fiona Arrese: 6-4, 6-1
Sara Dahlstrom def. Ellie Eades: 6-1, 6-3
Emma Shelton def. Maialen Morante: 6-7(1), 6-4, 10-6
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 2, 3, 5, 6
DOUBLES
Fiona Arrese/Ellie Eades def. McCartney Kessler/Marlee Zein: 6-4
No. 34 Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee def. Carla Girbau/Lidia Gonzalez: 6-3
Carlota Molina/Florencia Urrutia def. Carly Briggs/Emma Shelton: 7-6 (7)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
"That was very high drama and I was really happy to see Carly step up and put the team on her back today. It's a really difficult place to play and although we struggled at times, overall I thought we handled the pressure pretty well."
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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