LAS VEGAS –
Sara Dahlstrom claimed a singles title for the Gators at the 2023 Freeman Memorial on Sunday to headline six victories for Florida women's tennis.
The junior found herself matched-up with Oklahoma State's Ayumi Miyamoto in the championship match of the Aria Draw and opened with a strong 6-4 set. Miyamoto responded with a 6-2 second set, but Dahlstrom put her foot on the pedal to pull away in the final frame, 6-4, to secure the draw title.
Dahlstrom wasn't the only Gator to earn a crown, however, as the doubles tandem of
Carly Briggs and
Alicia Dudeney earned co-champion honors in the Luxor draw of the event. The pair was able to dominate their match against Kristina Novak and Alana Wolfberg of Oklahoma State, 6-1, for the victory.
Emma Shelton and
Sophie Williams also picked-up a victory as a pair, defeating Stanford's Alexis Blokhina and Ana Geller in a thriller, 7-6, to end the event with a victory.
Elsewhere in singles, freshman
Sophie Williams put on an impressive performance in earning her first ranked-win of the season. Williams began with a 6-3 opening-set victory over No. 121 Raquel Gonzalez of Oklahoma State before the Cowgirl responded with a 7-5 set of her own. Needing a strong finale, Williams delivered a 6-4 third frame for her winner.
Fellow freshman
Rachel Gailis concluded her tournament with a victory as well, overtaking Cindy Hu of host school UNLV in dominant fashion, 6-1, 6-0 for her first singles victory of the spring. Briggs secured a ranked-win for the Gators in a shortened contest, defeating No. 44 Blokhina (Stanford), 6-5, before the Cardinal retired due to injury.
The conclusion of the 2023 Freeman Memorial, which saw five ranked-victories for the Gators, marks the end of individual tournament play, as the focus now shifts to a dual match against South Florida on Sunday, Jan. 22 in Tampa.
Day Three Singles
Carly Briggs def. No. 44 Alexis Blokhina (Stanford): 6-5, ret.
No. 21 Savannah Broadus (Pepperdine) def.
Alicia Dudeney: 6-0, 6-2
Rachel Gailis def. Cindy Hu (UNLV): 6-1, 6-0
Sara Dahlstrom def. Ayumi Miyamoto (Oklahoma State): 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) def.
Bente Spee: 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Sophie Williams def. No. 121 Raquel Gonzalez (Oklahoma State): 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
Day Three Doubles
No. 11 Elise Wagle/Kimmi Hance (UCLA) def. No. 58
Rachel Gailis/
Bente Spee: 7-5
Alicia Dudeney/
Carly Briggs def. Kristina Novak/Alana Wolfberg (Oklahoma State): 6-1
Emma Shelton/
Sophie Williams def. Alexis Blokhina/Ana Geller (Stanford): 7-6
Day Two Singles Results
No. 38 Alexandra Yepifanova (Stanford) def.
Carly Briggs, 6-4, 6-2
Sara Dahlstrom def. No. 108 Alana Wolfberg (Oklahoma State), 6-7, 6-3, 6-4
Alicia Dudeney def. Valencia Xu (Stanford), 6-2, 7-5
No. 120 Anne-Christine Lutkmeyer (UCLA) def.
Rachel Gailis, 7-5, 6-3
Anna Campana (Pepperdine) def.
Emma Shelton, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3
Vanessa Ong (UCLA) def.
Bente Spee, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
Sophie Williams def. Nina Zdravkovic (UNLV), 6-3, 6-7, 6-0
Day One Singles
Carly Briggs def. No. 12 Janice Tjen (Pepperdine): 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
Alicia Dudeney def. No. 46 Kimmi Hance (UCLA): 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4)
Ayumi Miyamoto (Oklahoma State) def.
Rachel Gailis: 2-6, 6-4, 5-7
Sara Dahlstrom def. Cindy Hu (UNLV): 6-0, 6-1
Kristina Novak (Oklahoma State) def.
Bente Spee: 6-0, 7-6 (6)
Emma Shelton def. Sasha Vagramov (UCLA): 6-7, 6-3, 7-6
Elise Wagle (UCLA) def.
Sophie Williams: 6-4, 0-6, 3-6
Day One Doubles
Alicia Dudeney/
Carly Briggs def. Sasha Vagramov/Vanessa Ong (UCLA): 6-2
Lisa Zaar/Bunyawi Thamchaiwat (Pepperdine) def. No. 58
Rachel Gailis/Bente: 6-3
Cindy Hu/Coco Zhao (UNLV) def.
Emma Shelton/
Sophie Williams: 6-2
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