GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It was a dramatic setting for Florida's final Southeastern Conference match and senior day on Saturday afternoon, as the No. 16 Gators managed to outlast No. 23 South Carolina for a 4-3 victory and their 10th SEC victory of the year.
 
Entering Saturday, the Orange & Blue (18-5, 10-3 SEC) held the fourth position in the SEC while the Gamecocks (13-9, 8-5 SEC) were right behind them in fifth, setting up a winner-take-all scenario for the final double-bye slot in next week's SEC Tournament.
 
The atmosphere inside Linder Stadium was electric, as a loud contingent of Gators fans filled the stadium for senior day. The Gators capitalized on the home court advantage, racing out to a strong start of the match in doubles competition.
 
To get the Orange & Blue started, No. 66 Alicia Dudeney and McCartney Kessler were dominant, earning their second-straight ranked win as a pair. The Florida squad gained the lead at 2-1 early in the match, and they never looked back, taking down the No. 35 Sarah Hamner and Megan Davies to give UF an early advantage in doubles play.
 
At the three doubles position, the duo of Carly Briggs and Emma Shelton had a strong showing. Facing off with South Carolina's Misa Malkin and Elise Mills, the juniors raced out to a 5-0 lead before the opposition rattled-off three games. Unphased by the momentum from the Gamecocks, the team recovered to earn the 6-3 victory, securing the doubles point for the Orange & Blue.
 
While unfinished, Bente Spee and Marlee Zein were in a battle on court three against Ayana Akli and Ana Cruz. The squad was close to completing their match, holding a 5-4 edge over USC while leading 30-0 in the game.
 
In a matchup between two of the nation's best collegiate tennis players, Kessler did not disappoint. Matchup up against No. 5 Hamner, Kessler enforced her will in the opening set en route to a 6-1 opening frame victory. Hamner, a top-five player in the nation for a reason, responded in the second set, opening up a 4-3 lead over the UF graduate midway through the second. Kessler remained composed to record three-straight wins to take the match, 6-1, 6-4.
 
On court five, sophomore Sara Dahlstrom put the Gators in position to seal the deal against the Gamecocks. The Sweden native found herself in back-and-forth opening frame against Malkin. Fighting to 2-2 and 4-4 knots, Dahlstrom would break through in the final two games to claim the set, 6-4. Holding momentum from the first set, the sophomore pressed down on the gas to run away with a 6-1 second set victory and extend the Florida lead to 3-0.
 
With their backs up against the wall, South Carolina picked up their first win of the day on court two, as No. 57 Ayana Akli managed to hold off No. 67 Zein in a two-set matchup. After falling in the first set, 2-6, Zein responded to pull even with Akli at 5-5 in the second, but the opposition recorded back-to-back game victories to secure the match, 7-5.
 
The Gamecocks would pull even with the Gators, setting up a dramatic finish for the fourth seed. At the four singles slot, Misa Malkin defeated Carly Briggs after the Gator forced a third set: 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 before Gracie Mulville took down Sydney Berlin on court six, who also forced a decisive set: 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, to even the match at three between the teams.
 
All eyes fell on court three for the match deciding point. With Dudeney and Davies exchanging punches early, the South Carolina Gamecock would outlast Dudeney in a tight opening set, 7-5. That would not deter Dudeney, however, as the United Kingdom native recovered with a strong 6-3 effort in the second set. With the double-bye in the SEC Tournament on the line, Dudeney put together an elite effort in the final frame. The freshman raced out to a 5-0 lead before Davies managed to take back-to-back games to pull within 5-2. Once again, Dudeney flipped the script on her opponent, dominating the final game to secure the match and Florida's 10th SEC victory, 6-2.
 
The Gators will be back in action next Friday, Apr. 22, for their opening match of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, hosted by Florida from Apr. 20-24 at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
 
SINGLES
No. 12 McCartney Kessler def. No. 5 Sarah Hamner (USC): 6-1, 6-4
No. 57 Ayana Akli (USC) def. No. 67 Marlee Zein: 6-2, 7-5
Alicia Dudeney def. Megan Davies (USC): 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
No. 118 Elise Mills (USC) def. Carly Briggs: 6-1, 4-6, 6-1
Sara Dahlstrom def. Misa Malkin (USC): 6-4, 6-1
Ana Cruz (USC) def. Sydney Berlin: 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
 
DOUBLES
No. 66 Alicia Dudeney/McCartney Kessler def. No. 35 Sarah Hamner/Megan Davies (USC): 6-2
Bente Spee/Marlee Zein vs. Ayana Akli/Ana Cruz (USC): 5-4
Carly Briggs/Emma Shelton def. Misa Malkin/Elise Mills (USC): 6-3
 
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the doubles competition…
"I think that doubles, for us, in an attitude and determination thing. We played with great determination and all the big points we tried to be creative rather than just reactive and we knew that we had to because we knew that South Carolina team likes to dictate play. If you just sit back and let them do it, you'll get crushed, so we talked about it this week that we have to be the team to go line, use the lob, poach first and I think that mentality really put us in an aggressive mindset. I thought we played extraordinarily well in doubles.
 
On Alicia Dudeney clinching the match…
"This South Carolina team is really tough and they always have been. They make a million balls and they make you have to finish them off and today it came down to one of their most experienced players in the clutch against Alicia (Dudeney) who had been in that position once before and didn't win. But today, it was on her racquet and I was happy to see she was able to play with confidence and end points moving forward, which was the only way for us to win that match, even when the pressure got dialed up.
 
On the impact of Sydney Berlin and Carly Briggs…
To be honest, I think Sydney (Berlin) may have won that match for us even though she lost. Being down 4-1, if she had tapped out at 6-1 in the third, it would've put all that pressure on Alicia at an earlier point. As it is now, it was 5-0 us in the third when Sydney lost. That big lead really benefited us and I think a lot of credit goes to and should go to the fight that both Sydney and Carly (Briggs) displayed getting it to their third sets and extending the match to take that pressure off of the eventual winner. It's all a team effort."
 
On McCartney Kessler's big win…
"As far as McCartney (Kessler) is concerned, I think she was really disappointed that she lost last week and had a good week of practice. You could tell she was very focused and this weekend was a bad weekend to play against McCartney."
 
On the SEC Tournament and the fans…
"We talked about the SEC Tournament being one of the things we wanted to train for, prepare for and highlight, especially after we lost to Texas A&M and Georgia when we felt like the regular season trophy was perhaps beyond reach. I was really happy and pleased to see that we were able to play one of our cleanest matches of the year as a send-off into the tournament, so perhaps the few hundred people that were here today got their money's worth and want to come support us Friday and beyond."
 
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators