TAMPA, Fla. – Florida women's tennis started the season with a strong performance in Tampa on Sunday, defeating South Florida in the season-opening dual match, 6-1.
The Gators (1-0, 0-0 SEC) took command of Sunday's dual match early, earning a clean sweep in doubles action to secure the point.
Emma Shelton and
Sophie Williams made quick work of USF's (0-1, 0-0 AAC) Sierra Berry and Ireland Simme, downing the Bulls on court three, 6-2.
On the top court,
Alicia Dudeney and
Carly Briggs pulled-away from Grace Schumacher and Margriet Timmermans for a 6-3 victory and the important doubles point.
In singles competition, the Gators were focused as well, picking up five of six singles victories. On the top court, Briggs completed a perfect day with a strong 6-1, 6-2 performance over Grace Schumacher, while Shelton took care of business on court six, downing Timmermans in straight-set, 6-3, 6-1.
Leading the match as a team, 3-1, all eyes went to court two where Dudeney was matched-up with Laura Pellicer. The United Kingdom native defeated Pellicer in a strong 6-1, 6-3 effort to clinch the match for the Orange & Blue.
The Gators weren't done with the victories, however, as freshman
Rachel Gailis earned her first-career dual match triumph at four singles, defeating Cliona Walsh. Gailis found herself in a battle early, holding on for a 7-5 opening-set win, before running away with a 6-1 second set. Also earning her first dual match victory was
Emily De Oliveira on court five. The sophomore quickly found herself down a set to Marta Falceto, but bounced-back with a hard-earned 7-5 second set. She remained composed in the 10-point tiebreaker for the match, claiming a 10-4 victory.
Up Next
Florida's focus will now turn to ITA Kickoff Weekend where they'll meet Arizona in the opening round in College Station, Texas. The match is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 28, at 2 p.m. ET.
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On Sunday's competition…
"I'm really pleased with our effort today and we were excellent in doubles. This team has a chance to really excel in doubles and today we were clinical. Our veteran players, overall, did a really good job helping our youngsters throughout the day by being positive and encouraging while helping us play tough. We had to problem-solve on a few courts and it was just a great opening round for the Gators against a tough South Florida team."
On Emily De Oliveira's comeback…
"She could not hit the ball in the ocean that first set. She had a tricky game and Emily had to really dig deep to change from plan A, to plan B and eventually to plan C. I'm really proud of her for being able to do that and that's what college tennis is about. It's not about hitting, it's about playing and I thought our veterans did a really good job of encouraging our youngsters to find ways to win."
On moving the focus to ITA Kickoff Weekend…
"It's important that we continue to play points in practice. We played a lot of points, more points at the beginning of this spring than in years past, and with this group it's really important. We have great talent, great depth and being able to problem-solve in tough moments, you know, four-all and five-all deep in sets, become critical if you want to beat good teams. I thought we showed real promise in that today, with Emily being one of them, but even Rachel played a close set. Competing in practice in the afternoons and having mornings to polish our game is going to be crucial for us in the near term."
Singles
Carly Briggs def. Grace Schumacher (USF): 6-1, 6-2
Alicia Dudeney def. Laura Pellicer (USF): 6-1, 6-3
Sierra Berry (USF) def. No. 63
Anastasia Sysoeva: 6-3, 6-2
Rachel Gailis def. Cliona Walsh (USF): 7-5, 6-1
Emily De Oliveira def. Marta Falceto (USF): 2-6, 7-5, 10-4
Emma Shelton def. Margriet Timmermans (USF): 6-3, 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 6, 2, 4, 5
Doubles
Briggs/Dudeney def. Schumacher/Timmermans (USF): 6-3
No. 58
Rachel Gailis/
Bente Spee vs. Laura Pellicer/ Cliona Walsh (USF): 5-3, unf.
Emma Shelton/
Sophie Williams def. Sierra Berry/Ireland Simme (USF): 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
