Thursday, February 9
Gainesville, Fla.
4:30 P.M.
Florida Gators
4
vs
1
Florida State
Emily De Oliveira won her match following a six-minute, 183 shot point on Thursday. (Photo by Gabriella Whisler)
Strong Singles Play Pushes No. 18 Gators Past Seminoles
Thursday, February 9, 2023 | Women's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida women's tennis claimed their fourth-straight victory over in-state rival Florida State on Thursday evening, defeating the Seminoles 4-1 at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
The Gators (4-1, 0-0 SEC) recorded their 60th all-time victory against FSU (5-2, 0-0 ACC) and now hold a 60-5 lead in the series history.
Florida had an uphill battle to secure their victory on Thursday evening, as the Seminoles secured the doubles point on courts one and three to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Vic Allen and Anna Arkadianou defeated Carly Briggs and Alicia Dudeney, 6-2, before Millie Bissett and Olympe Lancelot defeated the UF team of Emma Shelton and Sophie Williams, 6-3, to secure the point.
It didn't take long for the Orange & Blue to get on the scoreboard, however, as No. 97 Dudeney pulled-away for a contested 6-4 first set victory over Mila Saric which led into a dominating performance in the second set, 6-2, to even the match at one.
The first lead of the evening for the Gators came by the way of court six and No. 118 Emily De Oliveira. In similar fashion to Dudeney, De Oliveira pulled-away late in the first set over Alice Amendola, 6-4. The sophomore claimed the match victory behind a strong 6-1 second set effort, finished-off by an impressive effort while up 5-1. Trailing 0-40 in the final game, De Oliveira battled her way back and earned the win by way of a 6-minute match point that featured 183 shots.
Holding the 2-1 lead, No. 76 Sara Dahlstrom put the Gators in position to clinch the match after a hard-fought win on court three. It was a tough start for the junior, falling in the opening set to Allen, 4-6. That didn't phase Dahlstrom, though, as she responded by holding her opponent to a donut, 6-0, in the second set. Dahlstrom found herself in a tight third set early, but secured the 6-3 win to extend Florida's lead to 3-1.
Freshman Rachel Gailis played clincher against the Seminoles, finishing the match on court four for UF. In what looked like a copy of court three, the freshman fell behind Ellie Schoppe early with the Seminole winning the opening frame, 6-4. Gailis took control of momentum after holding Schoppe to a goose-egg in the second, winning 6-0. With the match on the line, Gailis found herself leading 5-3 in the third set. Schoppe pulled back within one game, but Gailis held off the late surge on deuce for match point to win the day for Florida.
The Gators will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 22 when they welcome Florida Gulf Coast to the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex for a 1 p.m. ET matchup.
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On bouncing back from the doubles point…
"I thought Florida State played a really good doubles point. They ran ahead quickly there on two courts and we were barely hanging on at two. I think FSU is really good at doubles, frankly. We have some work to do in our offensive plays in doubles, which I think we can correct with continued work during the week. I'm really pleased with how we responded. This is a very talented Florida State team and we handed them three losses last year, so I knew they were super motivated to play us this year. With a lot of youth on our team, I was curious to see how we were going to rebound when we lost the doubles point. I told them in the locker room that this team has something special. Each player has several ways to win. We don't have to play at the top of our game to win big matches. We can win with plan B and some may have even won with plan C today. That's the mark of a really good team. I'm just really pleased with how we handled ourselves and competed, while closing out these close matches in the end."
On Gailis responding to clinch the match in three sets…
"I know she was very disappointed losing the first set. She actually handled herself unreal. She looked like a veteran immediately in the second set and won subsequently, 6-0. She could've done herself a real disservice if she showed disappointment and hung her head in the beginning of the second. On the contrary, she looked like a pro and competed well, then had a dig and found a way to close out the third. It means a lot that we can find ways to win under pressure. We had to dig deep today and those matches mean more than the matches you win easy in my book."
On De Oliveira's consistency and incredible finish to win the match…
"What I like about Emily is she's obviously a world class athlete, but she has a lot of variety in her game. She can hit if she plays somebody who pushes the pace and today she actually had to elevate her ball against a pusher and was able to do that clinically. At the end, 183 shots, in all my 29 years of coaching I have never seen anything like it. If anybody was going to do that, it was her. She's been impressive for us and it's really helping our team."
Singles
1. #55 Carly Briggs (UF) vs. #78 Anna Arkadianou (FSU) 6-4, 4-6, 5-0, unfinished
2. #97 Alicia Dudeney (UF) def. Mila Saric (FSU) 6-4, 6-2
3. #76 Sara Dahlstrom (UF) def. Vic Allen (FSU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
4. Rachel Gailis (UF) def. Ellie Schoppe (FSU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-4
5. #104 Anastasia Sysoeva (UF) vs. Olympe Lancelot (FSU) 5-7, 6-2, 1-3, unfinished
6. #118 Emily De Oliveira (UF) def. Alice Amendola (FSU) 6-4, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 3, 4
Doubles
1. Vic Allen/Anna Arkadianou (FSU) def. Carly Briggs/Alicia Dudeney (UF) 6-2
2. Rachel Gailis/Bente Spee (UF) vs. Kianah Motosono/Ellie Schoppe (FSU) 5-5, unfinished
3. Millie Bissett/Olympe Lancelot (FSU) def. Emma Shelton/Sophie Williams (UF) 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3
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The Gators (4-1, 0-0 SEC) recorded their 60th all-time victory against FSU (5-2, 0-0 ACC) and now hold a 60-5 lead in the series history.
Florida had an uphill battle to secure their victory on Thursday evening, as the Seminoles secured the doubles point on courts one and three to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Vic Allen and Anna Arkadianou defeated Carly Briggs and Alicia Dudeney, 6-2, before Millie Bissett and Olympe Lancelot defeated the UF team of Emma Shelton and Sophie Williams, 6-3, to secure the point.
It didn't take long for the Orange & Blue to get on the scoreboard, however, as No. 97 Dudeney pulled-away for a contested 6-4 first set victory over Mila Saric which led into a dominating performance in the second set, 6-2, to even the match at one.
The first lead of the evening for the Gators came by the way of court six and No. 118 Emily De Oliveira. In similar fashion to Dudeney, De Oliveira pulled-away late in the first set over Alice Amendola, 6-4. The sophomore claimed the match victory behind a strong 6-1 second set effort, finished-off by an impressive effort while up 5-1. Trailing 0-40 in the final game, De Oliveira battled her way back and earned the win by way of a 6-minute match point that featured 183 shots.
Holding the 2-1 lead, No. 76 Sara Dahlstrom put the Gators in position to clinch the match after a hard-fought win on court three. It was a tough start for the junior, falling in the opening set to Allen, 4-6. That didn't phase Dahlstrom, though, as she responded by holding her opponent to a donut, 6-0, in the second set. Dahlstrom found herself in a tight third set early, but secured the 6-3 win to extend Florida's lead to 3-1.
Freshman Rachel Gailis played clincher against the Seminoles, finishing the match on court four for UF. In what looked like a copy of court three, the freshman fell behind Ellie Schoppe early with the Seminole winning the opening frame, 6-4. Gailis took control of momentum after holding Schoppe to a goose-egg in the second, winning 6-0. With the match on the line, Gailis found herself leading 5-3 in the third set. Schoppe pulled back within one game, but Gailis held off the late surge on deuce for match point to win the day for Florida.
The Gators will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 22 when they welcome Florida Gulf Coast to the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex for a 1 p.m. ET matchup.
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On bouncing back from the doubles point…
"I thought Florida State played a really good doubles point. They ran ahead quickly there on two courts and we were barely hanging on at two. I think FSU is really good at doubles, frankly. We have some work to do in our offensive plays in doubles, which I think we can correct with continued work during the week. I'm really pleased with how we responded. This is a very talented Florida State team and we handed them three losses last year, so I knew they were super motivated to play us this year. With a lot of youth on our team, I was curious to see how we were going to rebound when we lost the doubles point. I told them in the locker room that this team has something special. Each player has several ways to win. We don't have to play at the top of our game to win big matches. We can win with plan B and some may have even won with plan C today. That's the mark of a really good team. I'm just really pleased with how we handled ourselves and competed, while closing out these close matches in the end."
On Gailis responding to clinch the match in three sets…
"I know she was very disappointed losing the first set. She actually handled herself unreal. She looked like a veteran immediately in the second set and won subsequently, 6-0. She could've done herself a real disservice if she showed disappointment and hung her head in the beginning of the second. On the contrary, she looked like a pro and competed well, then had a dig and found a way to close out the third. It means a lot that we can find ways to win under pressure. We had to dig deep today and those matches mean more than the matches you win easy in my book."
On De Oliveira's consistency and incredible finish to win the match…
"What I like about Emily is she's obviously a world class athlete, but she has a lot of variety in her game. She can hit if she plays somebody who pushes the pace and today she actually had to elevate her ball against a pusher and was able to do that clinically. At the end, 183 shots, in all my 29 years of coaching I have never seen anything like it. If anybody was going to do that, it was her. She's been impressive for us and it's really helping our team."
Singles
1. #55 Carly Briggs (UF) vs. #78 Anna Arkadianou (FSU) 6-4, 4-6, 5-0, unfinished
2. #97 Alicia Dudeney (UF) def. Mila Saric (FSU) 6-4, 6-2
3. #76 Sara Dahlstrom (UF) def. Vic Allen (FSU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
4. Rachel Gailis (UF) def. Ellie Schoppe (FSU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-4
5. #104 Anastasia Sysoeva (UF) vs. Olympe Lancelot (FSU) 5-7, 6-2, 1-3, unfinished
6. #118 Emily De Oliveira (UF) def. Alice Amendola (FSU) 6-4, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 3, 4
Doubles
1. Vic Allen/Anna Arkadianou (FSU) def. Carly Briggs/Alicia Dudeney (UF) 6-2
2. Rachel Gailis/Bente Spee (UF) vs. Kianah Motosono/Ellie Schoppe (FSU) 5-5, unfinished
3. Millie Bissett/Olympe Lancelot (FSU) def. Emma Shelton/Sophie Williams (UF) 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3
#1 Singles Match
1234
Anna Arkadianou / 0 (78/-) [FSU]
4600
645UF
#2 Singles Match
12
Mila Saric / 0 [FSU]
42
66
#3 Singles Match
123
Vic Allen / 0 [FSU]
603
466
#4 Singles Match
123
Ellie Schoppe / 0 [FSU]
604
466
#5 Singles Match
1234
Olympe Lancelot / 0 [FSU]
7230
561UF
#6 Singles Match
12
Alice Amendola / 0 [FSU]
41
66
Order of Finish:
2,6,3,4
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ 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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