Saturday, May 7
Gainesville, Fla.
2 PM
Florida Gators
4
vs
0
South Alabama
Emma Shelton celebrates following an ace to clinch her doubles match. (Photo by Jashari Blige/UAA Communications)
No. 16 Gators Down South Alabama to Advance in NCAA Tournament
Saturday, May 7, 2022 | Women's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Wind couldn't stop a dominant performance by Florida women's tennis on Saturday afternoon, as the Gators took down South Alabama in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, 4-0, at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. Florida will meet Florida State in the second round of the tournament on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Florida's (20-6, 10-3 SEC) victory over the Jaguars (22-5, 10-1 Sun Belt) ensured the continued dominance by the Gators in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, improving to 23-0 in the round of 64. The Orange & Blue are also now 4-0 all-time against South Alabama, including a 2-0 mark in the NCAA Tournament.
South Alabama came out punching to begin doubles competition inside Linder Stadium, grabbing early leads on courts two and three. On the top court, Alicia Dudeney and McCartney Kessler provided consistency for the Gators after pulling out to a 2-1 lead early in the match. The No. 26 duo proved too much for Luminita Tutunaru and Nikola Kohoutova, defeating the Jaguar pair, 6-2.
Perhaps one of the most impressive efforts of the day came on court three. The all-junior team of Carly Briggs and Emma Shelton found their backs against the wall early, as Otoha Aoki and Milka Pasenen were firing on all cylinders to take a 3-0 lead. The Orange & Blue remained composed, reeling-off the next five games to gain control of the match at 5-3. Their opposition answered with one final win, but Shelton sealed the deal on match point one game later, recording an ace to clinch the point for the Gators.
At the two doubles position, Yu Fujioka and Yurie Takanishi quickly grabbed a lead over Bente Spee and Marlee Zein, 2-1. Florida managed to even the match at two, but the Jaguars answered with three-straight games of their own to open-up a 5-2 lead. Spee and Zein weren't done yet, however, taking the following two games to pull back within one at 5-4. The match would end with the Gators surging, as Shelton and Briggs clinched the point for UF.
Singles competition on Saturday was all Florida from the opening point. Dudeney secured the first win of the day, putting together a commanding performance to defeat Tutunaru on court three: 6-0, 6-0, to give her victory number 15 in singles competition during the dual match season.
Sara Dahlstrom and Kessler raced to finish to see who would give the Gators their third point of the match, with both athletes also putting together strong performances on their respective courts. After a flawless 6-0 first set, No. 12 Kessler made quick work of Fujioka at the top position in the second set, 6-1, to push the Orange & Blue lead to 3-0.
Playing clincher for the fifth time during the 2022 season, Dahlstrom sealed the match for the Gators at the five singles position. Similar to Dudeney and Kessler, the sophomore cruised to a 6-1 opening set victory before serving up a 6-0 second set to defeat Milka Pasanen and give the Gators their 20th win of the season.
With their 20th win, Florida has secured their first 20-win season since the 2016-17 campaign when they ended 29-3. The Gators also claimed a national championship that spring.
Florida will take the court once again on Sunday, May 8, when they matchup with No. 35 Florida State for the third time this season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 1 p.m. ET. The Seminoles (15-10, 6-7 ACC) outlasted No. 42 Florida International on Saturday afternoon, 4-2. Sunday's match will be streamed live on the TennisOne App.
Singles
No. 12 McCartney Kessler def. Yu Fujioka: 6-0, 6-1
No. 81 Marlee Zein vs. Nikola Kohoutova: 3-6, 2-1, unf.
Alicia Dudeney def. Luminita Tutunaru: 6-0, 6-0
Carly Briggs vs. Otoha Aoki: 6-2, 3-0, unf.
Sara Dahlstrom def. Milka Pasanen: 6-1, 6-0
Emma Shelton vs. Delien Kleinhans: 6-4, unf.
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 5
Doubles
No. 26 Alicia Dudeney/McCartney Kessler def. Luminita Tutunaru/Nikola Kohoutova: 6-2
Bente Spee/Marlee Zein vs. Yu Fujioka/Yurie Takanishi: 4-5, unf.
Carlee Briggs/Emma Shelton def. Otoha Aoki/Milka Pasanen: 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3
Quotables
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On his overall thoughts on the match…
"I thought we started poorly in doubles, frankly. There were about 15 minutes there where we just couldn't make a ball and really, that's my fault. We were spending too much time in my office looking at the drama unfolding in the Florida State-FIU match and if I had to do it all over again, I would put our players in the locker room with some music and getting into the mindset of playing. Today we were good enough to overcome a poor first 15 minutes, but you can't get in the habit of having to play better that much to win a doubles point. To credit our players, though, they were able to do it."
On the comeback by Carly Briggs and Emma Shelton…
"I think that they suffered from exactly what my opening remarks were. Even at one, where we sort of won easy, we sort of flinched in the beginning. At three, we've done a lot of work in doubles lately, and three, of all of our teams, I think has shown the most improvement to be honest. They have a lot of energy and when they play well they're loud, the helpful, they're always talking to one another. I think you saw that aside from the start, and then they started to help one another and settle down and help us with their energy, which led to us playing better. Sometimes, especially in doubles, you can't go looking to play better and that leads to energy, it has to be the other way around and our three team has always led in that regard. I think it's important that our whole team that our three team is the engine, or energy engine, if you will."
On the performances by Alicia Dudeney and McCartney Kessler
"I think they played flawless, really. McCartney can play very powerfully, like she has huge groundstrokes, and today she held onto the ball too. She didn't overhit and she stayed within herself, even if it took four or five balls to the corner today, she didn't panic if they came back. She's just really difficult to beat on our court and our crowd when she plays with a discipline like that. I think the same thing goes for Lissy (Alicia). Her ball is different, perhaps shaped a little differently, but she has great depth now in her groundstrokes and she's just so fast, and it puts great pressure on her oppoentn to constantly have to put away every shot to win a point. You saw that today, that's why those matches were 6-0, 6-1."
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Florida's (20-6, 10-3 SEC) victory over the Jaguars (22-5, 10-1 Sun Belt) ensured the continued dominance by the Gators in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, improving to 23-0 in the round of 64. The Orange & Blue are also now 4-0 all-time against South Alabama, including a 2-0 mark in the NCAA Tournament.
South Alabama came out punching to begin doubles competition inside Linder Stadium, grabbing early leads on courts two and three. On the top court, Alicia Dudeney and McCartney Kessler provided consistency for the Gators after pulling out to a 2-1 lead early in the match. The No. 26 duo proved too much for Luminita Tutunaru and Nikola Kohoutova, defeating the Jaguar pair, 6-2.
Perhaps one of the most impressive efforts of the day came on court three. The all-junior team of Carly Briggs and Emma Shelton found their backs against the wall early, as Otoha Aoki and Milka Pasenen were firing on all cylinders to take a 3-0 lead. The Orange & Blue remained composed, reeling-off the next five games to gain control of the match at 5-3. Their opposition answered with one final win, but Shelton sealed the deal on match point one game later, recording an ace to clinch the point for the Gators.
At the two doubles position, Yu Fujioka and Yurie Takanishi quickly grabbed a lead over Bente Spee and Marlee Zein, 2-1. Florida managed to even the match at two, but the Jaguars answered with three-straight games of their own to open-up a 5-2 lead. Spee and Zein weren't done yet, however, taking the following two games to pull back within one at 5-4. The match would end with the Gators surging, as Shelton and Briggs clinched the point for UF.
Singles competition on Saturday was all Florida from the opening point. Dudeney secured the first win of the day, putting together a commanding performance to defeat Tutunaru on court three: 6-0, 6-0, to give her victory number 15 in singles competition during the dual match season.
Sara Dahlstrom and Kessler raced to finish to see who would give the Gators their third point of the match, with both athletes also putting together strong performances on their respective courts. After a flawless 6-0 first set, No. 12 Kessler made quick work of Fujioka at the top position in the second set, 6-1, to push the Orange & Blue lead to 3-0.
Playing clincher for the fifth time during the 2022 season, Dahlstrom sealed the match for the Gators at the five singles position. Similar to Dudeney and Kessler, the sophomore cruised to a 6-1 opening set victory before serving up a 6-0 second set to defeat Milka Pasanen and give the Gators their 20th win of the season.
With their 20th win, Florida has secured their first 20-win season since the 2016-17 campaign when they ended 29-3. The Gators also claimed a national championship that spring.
Florida will take the court once again on Sunday, May 8, when they matchup with No. 35 Florida State for the third time this season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 1 p.m. ET. The Seminoles (15-10, 6-7 ACC) outlasted No. 42 Florida International on Saturday afternoon, 4-2. Sunday's match will be streamed live on the TennisOne App.
Singles
No. 12 McCartney Kessler def. Yu Fujioka: 6-0, 6-1
No. 81 Marlee Zein vs. Nikola Kohoutova: 3-6, 2-1, unf.
Alicia Dudeney def. Luminita Tutunaru: 6-0, 6-0
Carly Briggs vs. Otoha Aoki: 6-2, 3-0, unf.
Sara Dahlstrom def. Milka Pasanen: 6-1, 6-0
Emma Shelton vs. Delien Kleinhans: 6-4, unf.
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 5
Doubles
No. 26 Alicia Dudeney/McCartney Kessler def. Luminita Tutunaru/Nikola Kohoutova: 6-2
Bente Spee/Marlee Zein vs. Yu Fujioka/Yurie Takanishi: 4-5, unf.
Carlee Briggs/Emma Shelton def. Otoha Aoki/Milka Pasanen: 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3
Quotables
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On his overall thoughts on the match…
"I thought we started poorly in doubles, frankly. There were about 15 minutes there where we just couldn't make a ball and really, that's my fault. We were spending too much time in my office looking at the drama unfolding in the Florida State-FIU match and if I had to do it all over again, I would put our players in the locker room with some music and getting into the mindset of playing. Today we were good enough to overcome a poor first 15 minutes, but you can't get in the habit of having to play better that much to win a doubles point. To credit our players, though, they were able to do it."
On the comeback by Carly Briggs and Emma Shelton…
"I think that they suffered from exactly what my opening remarks were. Even at one, where we sort of won easy, we sort of flinched in the beginning. At three, we've done a lot of work in doubles lately, and three, of all of our teams, I think has shown the most improvement to be honest. They have a lot of energy and when they play well they're loud, the helpful, they're always talking to one another. I think you saw that aside from the start, and then they started to help one another and settle down and help us with their energy, which led to us playing better. Sometimes, especially in doubles, you can't go looking to play better and that leads to energy, it has to be the other way around and our three team has always led in that regard. I think it's important that our whole team that our three team is the engine, or energy engine, if you will."
On the performances by Alicia Dudeney and McCartney Kessler
"I think they played flawless, really. McCartney can play very powerfully, like she has huge groundstrokes, and today she held onto the ball too. She didn't overhit and she stayed within herself, even if it took four or five balls to the corner today, she didn't panic if they came back. She's just really difficult to beat on our court and our crowd when she plays with a discipline like that. I think the same thing goes for Lissy (Alicia). Her ball is different, perhaps shaped a little differently, but she has great depth now in her groundstrokes and she's just so fast, and it puts great pressure on her oppoentn to constantly have to put away every shot to win a point. You saw that today, that's why those matches were 6-0, 6-1."
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3
#1 Singles Match
12
Yu Fujioka / 0 [USA]
01
66
#2 Singles Match
123
Nikola Kohoutova / 0 [USA]
61UF
320
#3 Singles Match
12
Luminita Tutunaru / 0 [USA]
00
66
#4 Singles Match
123
Otoha Aoki / 0 [USA]
20UF
630
#5 Singles Match
12
Milka Pasanen / 0 [USA]
10
66
#6 Singles Match
12
Delien Kleinhans / 0 [USA]
4UF
60
Order of Finish:
3,1,5
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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