Wednesday, March 22
Gainesville, Fla.
3 P.M.
Florida Gators
4
vs
1
Michigan
Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee embrace each other after taking down the No. 2 ranked doubles pair in the country.
No. 19 Florida Dominates to Upset No. 3 Michigan
Wednesday, March 22, 2023 | Women's Tennis
The win is the Gators first over a top-five opponent since 2018 and first over a top-three opponent since 2017.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Looking to bounce back following a tough loss Sunday, No. 19 Florida walked on to court ready to dominate and upset No. 3 Michigan, 4-1, at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex on Wednesday afternoon.
The win is the Gators first over a top-five opponent since April 7, 2018 when they took down No. 5 South Carolina, 4-2, in Columbia. Additionally, it's their first over a top-three opponent since March 14, 2017, when they defeated No. 2 Ohio State, 4-1.
Against a strong Wolverines doubles lineup having won nine of their 12 doubles points this season, Florida (9-4, 3-2 SEC) used a pair of 6-2 victories on court one and three to grab the early lead over Michigan (11-3, 3-0 Big 10). Facing No. 2 Jaedan Brown/Kari Miller, Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee showed no fear and converted a break on their opponent's first service game to open the match. With both pairs holding serve until 4-2, the Gators duo converted their second break and held serve to win the final two games for the 6-2 victory.
At court three, Emily De Oliveira/Sophie Williams remained perfect together and secured Florida the doubles point by winning the final four games over Andrea Cerdan/Merri Kelly to improve to 4-0 as a tandem. The Gators went into the match with a 7-1 record when winning the doubles point and looked to build on the momentum in singles.
The Gators extended their high energy with No. 42 Sara Dahlstrom leading the charge at the top position. Up against her third consecutive top-50 opponent in No. 47 Miller, the junior raced out to a 4-1 advantage before putting away the first frame 6-2. Dahlstrom refused to go away and started the second set up 3-0 and brought down Miller, 6-2, for her third straight top-50 victory. Since moving up to court one, the native of Sweden is 2-0.
Continuing her excellence on court three, Dudeney improved her winning streak to five matches without dropping a set to push the Gators within one point of the triumph. Squared up against No. 37 Julia Fliegner, the sophomore won the final four games in the opening set for the 6-1 lead. Initially holding the 5-1 edge in the second set, Fliegner wouldn't go down without a fight and sent the set to a tiebreak. Seeking the first top-50 win of her career, the Hove, United Kingdom native dropped just two games in the breaker.
Almost simultaneously, Michigan earned their first point of the match on court six, as Andrea Cerdan was able to fend of Spee 6-2, 7-5. Despite Florida securing the first set on both court four and five, Michigan kept on battling and took both courts to a second set tiebreak.
The clinching match appeared it could go either Gailis or De Oliveira's way, but De Oliveira beat Gailis to the punch on court five. Starting with a 3-1 lead in the first, De Oliveira won the final two games and broke No. 118 Gala Mesochoritou's serve to snatch up the opener 6-3. The sophomore held a 5-2 second set edge, but found herself down 6-5 and managed to break Mesochoritou to force a tiebreak. De Oliveira clutched up and received the second ranked-victory of her career topping the Wolverine 7-4 in the breaker.
On court four, Gailis was one point away in the second set tiebreaker from the first top-100 win of her career over No. 63 Lily Jones after winning the first frame 6-4, but the match went unfinished with the Florida win in hand. At the two position, No. 45 Briggs fought hard against No. 30 Brown, despite dropping a gritty first set, however, the senior was leading 5-2 in the second.
Florida will hope to build off the impressive victory returning to SEC play on the road at Mississippi State Friday, March 24 at 5 p.m. and at Ole Miss Sunday, March 26 at 2 p.m.
QUOTES FROM THE COURT
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the quick turnaround from the loss Sunday to today's win…
"Well, honestly, we didn't have much time to practice. Monday was off and Tuesday was fairly light. It was more the behind the scenes stuff, if you will, rather than actual tennis stuff. This team has done the work, like every week. I was telling someone the other day that I think the weekly work this team does with me and JB (Jeremy Bayon) is as good as we've had our best teams. It rivals our best teams we've ever had. That kind of quality of work every day. They continue to get better and sometimes you don't get paid right away for that work. Today is just an awesome pay off for them. All those early mornings, all those double hits. You see eventually it pays off and I think we did a really great job."
On Michigan continuing to fight and attempt to comeback…
"I must commend Michigan because we had them and you can tell they're used to winning because we got right there and they refused to lay down. That's a mark of a championship team. They've won so many Big 10 championships in the last 10 years and you can tell they're used to winning. We got all the way up to put them down and they refused so we had to do it again. I was really proud of them that they didn't flinch. They kept pushing forward and eventually got it. Really great win for us today."
On what this a top-three win does for the team's confidence…
"It's funny, but I told them on Sunday you can't get too high when you win and you can't get too low when you lose. If I am going to keep to that promise then we have to do it now too. But, clearly it gives us confidence. Doubles, we're really getting better. It was a little blip there on Sunday, but like today again, one doubles was obviously a fantastic win for them. They've been knocking on the door because they have it in them and today it really happened for them. JB found some things analytically that we changed that I think made a big difference today."
On the impact Sara Dahlstrom's presence in the lineup had…
"In my opinion, she's one of the best players in the country. Any team would just be different without her and everybody plays a little looser because we have depth in the lineup. Look at that performance today, that speaks for itself."
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee (UF) def. No. 2 Jaedan Brown/Kari Miller (UM), 6-2
2. No. 76 Julia Fliegner/Lily Jones (UM) def. No. 60 Carly Briggs/Rachel Gailis (UF), 6-2
3. Emily De Oliveira/Sophie Williams (UF) def. Andrea Cerdan/Merri Kelly (UM), 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
SINGLES RESULTS
1. No. 42 Sara Dahlstrom (UF) def. No. 47 Kari Miller (UM), 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 45 Carly Briggs (UF) vs No. 30 Jaedan Brown (UM), 6-7 (0), 5-2, unfinished
3. Alicia Dudeney (UF) def. No. 37 Julia Fliegner (UM), 6-1, 7-6 (2)
4. Rachel Gailis (UF) vs No. 63 Lily Jones (UM), 6-4, 6-6 (6-2), unfinished
5. Emily De Oliveira (UF) def. No. 118 Gala Mesochoritou (UM), 6-3, 7-6 (4)
6. Andrea Cerdan (UM) def. Bente Spee (UF), 6-2, 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 6, 5
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The win is the Gators first over a top-five opponent since April 7, 2018 when they took down No. 5 South Carolina, 4-2, in Columbia. Additionally, it's their first over a top-three opponent since March 14, 2017, when they defeated No. 2 Ohio State, 4-1.
Against a strong Wolverines doubles lineup having won nine of their 12 doubles points this season, Florida (9-4, 3-2 SEC) used a pair of 6-2 victories on court one and three to grab the early lead over Michigan (11-3, 3-0 Big 10). Facing No. 2 Jaedan Brown/Kari Miller, Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee showed no fear and converted a break on their opponent's first service game to open the match. With both pairs holding serve until 4-2, the Gators duo converted their second break and held serve to win the final two games for the 6-2 victory.
At court three, Emily De Oliveira/Sophie Williams remained perfect together and secured Florida the doubles point by winning the final four games over Andrea Cerdan/Merri Kelly to improve to 4-0 as a tandem. The Gators went into the match with a 7-1 record when winning the doubles point and looked to build on the momentum in singles.
The Gators extended their high energy with No. 42 Sara Dahlstrom leading the charge at the top position. Up against her third consecutive top-50 opponent in No. 47 Miller, the junior raced out to a 4-1 advantage before putting away the first frame 6-2. Dahlstrom refused to go away and started the second set up 3-0 and brought down Miller, 6-2, for her third straight top-50 victory. Since moving up to court one, the native of Sweden is 2-0.
Continuing her excellence on court three, Dudeney improved her winning streak to five matches without dropping a set to push the Gators within one point of the triumph. Squared up against No. 37 Julia Fliegner, the sophomore won the final four games in the opening set for the 6-1 lead. Initially holding the 5-1 edge in the second set, Fliegner wouldn't go down without a fight and sent the set to a tiebreak. Seeking the first top-50 win of her career, the Hove, United Kingdom native dropped just two games in the breaker.
Almost simultaneously, Michigan earned their first point of the match on court six, as Andrea Cerdan was able to fend of Spee 6-2, 7-5. Despite Florida securing the first set on both court four and five, Michigan kept on battling and took both courts to a second set tiebreak.
The clinching match appeared it could go either Gailis or De Oliveira's way, but De Oliveira beat Gailis to the punch on court five. Starting with a 3-1 lead in the first, De Oliveira won the final two games and broke No. 118 Gala Mesochoritou's serve to snatch up the opener 6-3. The sophomore held a 5-2 second set edge, but found herself down 6-5 and managed to break Mesochoritou to force a tiebreak. De Oliveira clutched up and received the second ranked-victory of her career topping the Wolverine 7-4 in the breaker.
On court four, Gailis was one point away in the second set tiebreaker from the first top-100 win of her career over No. 63 Lily Jones after winning the first frame 6-4, but the match went unfinished with the Florida win in hand. At the two position, No. 45 Briggs fought hard against No. 30 Brown, despite dropping a gritty first set, however, the senior was leading 5-2 in the second.
Florida will hope to build off the impressive victory returning to SEC play on the road at Mississippi State Friday, March 24 at 5 p.m. and at Ole Miss Sunday, March 26 at 2 p.m.
QUOTES FROM THE COURT
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the quick turnaround from the loss Sunday to today's win…
"Well, honestly, we didn't have much time to practice. Monday was off and Tuesday was fairly light. It was more the behind the scenes stuff, if you will, rather than actual tennis stuff. This team has done the work, like every week. I was telling someone the other day that I think the weekly work this team does with me and JB (Jeremy Bayon) is as good as we've had our best teams. It rivals our best teams we've ever had. That kind of quality of work every day. They continue to get better and sometimes you don't get paid right away for that work. Today is just an awesome pay off for them. All those early mornings, all those double hits. You see eventually it pays off and I think we did a really great job."
On Michigan continuing to fight and attempt to comeback…
"I must commend Michigan because we had them and you can tell they're used to winning because we got right there and they refused to lay down. That's a mark of a championship team. They've won so many Big 10 championships in the last 10 years and you can tell they're used to winning. We got all the way up to put them down and they refused so we had to do it again. I was really proud of them that they didn't flinch. They kept pushing forward and eventually got it. Really great win for us today."
On what this a top-three win does for the team's confidence…
"It's funny, but I told them on Sunday you can't get too high when you win and you can't get too low when you lose. If I am going to keep to that promise then we have to do it now too. But, clearly it gives us confidence. Doubles, we're really getting better. It was a little blip there on Sunday, but like today again, one doubles was obviously a fantastic win for them. They've been knocking on the door because they have it in them and today it really happened for them. JB found some things analytically that we changed that I think made a big difference today."
On the impact Sara Dahlstrom's presence in the lineup had…
"In my opinion, she's one of the best players in the country. Any team would just be different without her and everybody plays a little looser because we have depth in the lineup. Look at that performance today, that speaks for itself."
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee (UF) def. No. 2 Jaedan Brown/Kari Miller (UM), 6-2
2. No. 76 Julia Fliegner/Lily Jones (UM) def. No. 60 Carly Briggs/Rachel Gailis (UF), 6-2
3. Emily De Oliveira/Sophie Williams (UF) def. Andrea Cerdan/Merri Kelly (UM), 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
SINGLES RESULTS
1. No. 42 Sara Dahlstrom (UF) def. No. 47 Kari Miller (UM), 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 45 Carly Briggs (UF) vs No. 30 Jaedan Brown (UM), 6-7 (0), 5-2, unfinished
3. Alicia Dudeney (UF) def. No. 37 Julia Fliegner (UM), 6-1, 7-6 (2)
4. Rachel Gailis (UF) vs No. 63 Lily Jones (UM), 6-4, 6-6 (6-2), unfinished
5. Emily De Oliveira (UF) def. No. 118 Gala Mesochoritou (UM), 6-3, 7-6 (4)
6. Andrea Cerdan (UM) def. Bente Spee (UF), 6-2, 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 6, 5
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SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
12
Kari Miller / 0 (47/-) [UM-WTN]
22
66
#2 Singles Match
123
Jaedan Brown / 0 (30/-) [UM-WTN]
720
65UF
#3 Singles Match
12
Julia Fliegner / 0 (37/-) [UM-WTN]
16
67
#4 Singles Match
123
Lily Jones / 0 (63/-) [UM-WTN]
460
66UF
#5 Singles Match
12
Gala Mesochoritou / 0 (118/-) [UM-WTN]
36
67
#6 Singles Match
12
Andrea Cerdan / 0 [UM-WTN]
67
25
Order of Finish:
1,3,6,5
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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