GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After two victories on the road last weekend, the No. 15 Gators women's tennis squad returns to the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex this weekend to begin a three-game homestand to end the regular season.
Florida (16-4, 8-2 SEC) will welcome No. 42 Alabama (14-7, 4-5 SEC) on Friday for a 5 p.m. ET matchup, while No. 13 Auburn (17-3, 8-1 SEC) head to Linder Stadium on Sunday for a 12 p.m. first serve.
PARKING & WEATHER REPORT
Parking for both the Friday and Sunday matches will have no restrictions. Both days call for clear conditions, but in the event that rain moves matches indoors, seats will be available on a first come, first served basis.
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
Friday will mark the 47th meeting between the Gators and Crimson Tide, with the Orange & Blue holding a commanding 44-2 series advantage over Alabama. Last season, Florida captured a 4-1 victory in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and they bring in a 19-1 record at home in the series.
Auburn, who boats the No. 13 national ranking, trails Florida in the series, 44-1. Their lone victory came during the 2021 season when they overcame the Gators, 4-2, in Auburn, Ala. The Tigers have struggled to win in Gainesville, however, with UF owning a perfect 18-0 tally.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, Florida went a perfect 2-0 on the road in Southeastern Conference play. They began with a 5-2 victory over No. 63 Kentucky, a match that saw the Gators overcome a dropped doubles point.
McCartney Kessler, once again claiming victory at the top singles position, earned the 100th victory of her career.
The Gators looked dominant in a 6-1 performance over Vanderbilt on Sunday, claiming their eighth-consecutive victory of the season. After capturing the doubles point, Florida quickly put themselves in a position to claim the match, opening singles competition with two dominant performances. On court five, Dahlstrom earned a clean sweep over Vandy's Amy Stevens: 6-0, 6-0. Not even 10 minutes later, No. 22 Kessler earned her 12th-consecutive victory on the season and another ranked-win, never relenting in a 6-0, 6-2, win over No. 72 Lee.
With the Gators holding a 3-0 lead, freshman Dudeney played clincher for UF on Sunday afternoon. Dudeney found herself in a close contest with Cruz early in the match, sitting at 4-4 at a crucial point of the first set. The Hove, United Kingdom, native flipped a switch to take the last two games of the opener before a commanding second set performance gave her the 6-4, 6-1 victory.
ITA RANKINGS
In the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association Rankings, the Gators improved to No. 15 in the country while also moving up to No. 14 in the United States Tennis Association rankings. Individually, two Gators find themselves ranked including:
McCartney Kessler – No. 15
Marlee Zein – No. 64
On the doubles side, the top two doubles teams for Florida sit in the top-35 nationally:
Carly Briggs/
Marlee Zein – No. 7
Alicia Dudeney/
Bente Spee – No. 44
AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Florida's schedule during the 2022 season has been no slouch, matching up with 14 ranked opponents in their last 17 matches. Holding a 10-4 mark during that stretch, the Orange & Blue defeated No. 63 Kentucky, No. 54 Mississippi State, No. 44 Ole Miss, No. 41 Vanderbilt, No. 36 Arkansas, No.18/24 Florida State twice, No. 17 Old Dominion, No. 16 Tennessee and No. 16 Washington, falling only to No. 7 Virginia, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 11 Ohio State and No. 23 Georgia.
ALABAMA IN THE RANKINGS
Team: 42
Singles: Bencheikh (98), Sedlackova (102)
AUBURN IN THE RANKINGS
Team: 13
Singles: Ovunc (69), Arseneault (70), Ansari (87)
Doubles: Arseneault/Ovunc (12)
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