GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators claimed their third-straight Southeastern Conference victory on Friday evening after an impressive 6-1 victory over No. 23 Vanderbilt on a windy evening inside Linder Stadium.
 
Florida's (8-3, 3-1 SEC) victory over the No. 23 Commodores (8-6, 2-3 SEC) marked the Orange & Blue's highest-ranked win of the season.
 
The Gators were clinical in doubles at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex, racing out to early leads on all three courts. It would be a photo finish for who wanted to clinch to doubles point for the Orange & Blue, as Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee pulled-away for a dominant 6-2 victory over Anna Ross and Holly Staff. Just seconds later, No. 60 Carly Briggs and Rachel Gailis took down Celia-Belle Mohr and Marcella Cruz by the same score to secure a 1-0 lead for the Gators and clinch the doubles point.
 
Moving to the second singles slot for the match against the Commodores, No. 47 Briggs was dominant. After opening a 3-1 lead over No. 60 Bridget Stammel, the senior didn't look back en route to a 6-1 first set victory. Briggs quickly pulled-out to a 3-0 lead in the second before putting her opponent away, 6-2 set and match win.
 
On court three, Dudeney also captured a win in impressive fashion. Taking on No. 111 Staff, Dudeney, in similar fashion to Briggs, began with a 3-0 edge in the opening frame before taking a 6-2 win in the first. The Hove, United Kingdom, native gave Staff a goose egg with a 6-0 second set to give the Gators their second singles triumph and 3-0 match lead.
 
Making her first appearance in the lineup since Jan. 22, Emma Shelton played a crucial role in the Orange & Blue's success on Friday evening. Shelton found herself in a battle early, leading 2-1 before holding a late 5-3 edge. Dasha Kourkina was unable to complete the first set comeback, however, as Shelton took the opener 6-3. The second set was all in favor of the senior, with Shelton clinching the match for UF behind a 6-1 effort.
 
Playing at the top singles spot for the first time in her career, No. 119 Sara Dahlstrom was put into a three-set thriller against No. 48 Mohr. The sophomore struggled in the first frame, falling to Mohr, 6-2, before opening the second set with a 3-0 advantage after making some adjustments. The Commodore made things interesting, responding to make it 5-3 late, but it wouldn't be enough before Dahlstrom evened the match, 6-3. In the 10-point tiebreak that replaced a full third set, the Gator quickly faced a 3-0 deficit, but responded with the next eight points during her march to a 10-4 win.
 
On court four, Gailis had her work cut-out for her against No. 113 Anessa Lee. The freshman started with a commanding 3-0 lead, but Vandy came back to even the match at five before taking a 7-6(8) first set victory. After a back-and-forth start at 2-2 in the second, Gailis reeled-off four-consecutive games to tie the match at one set each. Both athletes exchanged blows to a 3-3 score early in the tiebreak before Lee managed to win two-straight to claim a 5-3 lead. Gailis didn't flinch, coming back to take a 6-5 edge. Vandy would again respond by reclaiming an 8-6 lead and they would take advantage of the momentum for their first point, 10-8.
 
In similar fashion to Gailis, Spee had a tough opening-set after leading 4-3, falling to Cruz, 7-5. That didn't deter her, however, pulling ahead late in the second set, 4-3, after a back-and-forth effort to begin en route to a 6-4 second set. The fight in Spee was strong during the tiebreaker. Seeing a 1-4 hole early on, the sophomore battled-back to take the lead, 6-5 before winning a 10-8 thriller to secure a 6-1 Florida victory.
 
Florida will be back in action on Sunday when No. 68 Kentucky visits Linder Stadium for a noon ET matchup.
 
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On a strong doubles point…
"We studied Anna Danilina, who's our doubles pro on the tour, this week and really tried to emulate a few things that she does while at practice boy, did it make a big difference in our play. I think we've been talking about playing aggressive doubles, but haven't moved accordingly and today, after these drills, we just moved so much better on the court and that makes us greater. We talked this week and thought Vanderbilt, on paper, was probably the best doubles point in the league and we were outstanding today so I was pleased with that. Then we compete in singles, too. I'm really proud of them. They're doing such good work all week and you're starting to see that we're a tough group now."
 
On Emma Shelton's effort…
"Emma didn't know until basically she walked through the doors here this afternoon that she was playing, but Jeremy (Bayon) has done such a great job with Emma over the course of the last couple weeks once she got healthy again. He kept reminding her, 'look, you've got to prepare like you're going to play even if you may not be, because one day we're handing you the ball and you've got to be ready.' To her credit, she came to work every day with a great attitude and tried to get better. I feel really, really happy for her. She was awesome, outstanding today."
 
On Sara Dahlstrom's debut at one singles…
"I know she was a little nervous in the beginning, I could tell. Her balls weren't really out in the outer thirds too much. You've got to move this kid or she's going to eat you alive, so once she started relaxing a little bit and getting balls out on the wings, I thought she played really good tennis. The tiebreaker was excellent tennis."
 
Singles
No. 119 Sara Dahlstrom def. No. 48 Celia-Belle Mohr (VU): 2-6, 6-3, 10-4
No. 47 Carly Briggs def. No. 60 Bridget Stammel (VU): 6-1, 6-2
Alicia Dudeney def. No. 111 Holly Staff (VU): 6-2, 6-0
No. 113 Anessa Lee (VU) def. Rachel Gailis: 7-6(6), 3-6, 8-10
Bente Spee def. Marcella Cruz (VU): 5-7, 6-4, 10-8
Emma Shelton def. Dasha Kourkina (VU): 6-3, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2,3,6,1,4,5
 
Doubles
Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee def. Anna Ross/Holly Staff (VU): 6-2
No. 60 Carly Briggs/Rachel Gailis def. Celia-Belle Mohr/Marcella Cruz (VU): 6-2
Emma Shelton/Sophie Williams vs. Anessa Lee/Bridget Stammel (VU): 3-4, unf.
Order of Finish: 1,2
 
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