STARKVILLE, Miss. – Florida women's tennis picked-up a hard-fought Southeastern Conference road win over Mississippi State in windy conditions on Friday evening, defeating the Bulldogs, 5-2, in Starkville.
 
The No. 19 Gators (10-4, 4-2 SEC) continued their strong doubles play, securing their ninth doubles point of the season. On court one, Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee raced out to a 5-0 lead over Emmanouela Antonaki and Dharani Niroshan before claiming a 6-1 victory.
 
After splitting the opening two games, Emily De Oliveira and Sophie Williams began to find their rhythm, opening-up a 4-1 lead over Sydney Hrehor and Alexandra Mikhailuk at the three doubles position. The Bulldogs (10-8, 0-7) responded with back-to-back games to pull within 4-3, but the Orange & Blue managed to break the opposition in the next game en route to a 6-3 win and doubles point victory.
 
The Bulldogs quickly pulled even with the Gators, as Antonaki managed to take down No. 42 Sara Dahlstrom: 6-2, 6-3. The stalemate didn't last long, however, with De Oliveira continuing to impress at the five singles position. De Oliveira quickly opened-up a 3-1 lead in the opening set, using that momentum to pull away for a 6-1 first set win. No. 117 Maria Rizzolo wouldn't go away, staying within one game for the majority of the second set, but it would be the Gator who would hold on for the 6-4 set and match victory.
 
Seconds after De Oliveira's win, No. 45 Briggs took care of business on court two against Gia Cohen. In similar fashion to the sophomore, Briggs began with a 3-1 edge and was able to keep Cohen at arm's length, taking the first set 6-3. The senior and Cohen played an almost identical second set as Briggs was able to claim a 6-3 triumph to make the overall match score 3-1 in favor of UF.
 
Dudeney claimed her sixth-consecutive singles victory on Friday evening to clinch the match for the Gators. After a one-one match early in the first, Dudeney raced-out to a 5-1 lead, but Mikhailuk claimed two-straight to pull within 5-3. The sophomore responded quickly by taking the next game to secure a 6-3 first set. Mikhailuk kept it close in the beginning of set two, holding within one at 3-2, before Dudeney again raced-away for the 6-3 second set and match victory, securing the road win for Florida.
 
The Bulldogs claimed their second point of the afternoon on court four after Niroshan was able to fend-off a second set comeback attempt from Rachel Gailis. Niroshan took the first set, 6-4, but fell behind Gailis 5-2 in the second. The Bulldog came back to tie the match at six before taking the tiebreaker, 8-6.
 
Friday's final match of the day featured a comeback victory for the Orange & Blue. Spee fell to Emily Surcey, 6-3, in the opening frame, but she didn't let that deter her focus. The Netherlands native, after splitting the first two games of the second set, reeled-off five-straight to win the second set, 6-1. Both athletes held serve to a stalemate at four games late in the third, but Spee was able to break Surcey to hold on for a 6-4 win, making the final score 5-2 in favor of the Gators.
 
Florida will travel to Ole Miss for the second road match of the weekend on Sunday, March 26. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. ET.
 
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the competitiveness of Friday's match...
"I thought we played really well in doubles. It was hard to play here, it was super slow and the wind was blowing, which made virtually every match super competitive. For the most part we handled it pretty well, we had to dig deep in some deep sets to get it done, but overall, we feel pretty good. We're pretty confident and despite Mississippi State fighting like crazy, I thought we ended up taking it to them at the end and I'm really proud of that."
 
On Bente Spee's comeback performance on court six…
"She had to change the way she was playing because of the speed of the court. It was too fast to try and bully her way forward, then she was trying to take the ball early and come in and it was too slow to do it here. She had to change the way she played and executed a flawless second set and then, obviously, in the third she had some nerves in there. She was down 4-3, then played three really clean games to seal the win there."
 
On Alicia Dudeney's consistency for the Gators…
"Obviously it helps. I think for the most part we all hit the ball super well. This league is really competitive and when we have this confidence, we play at a different level. Lissy (Alicia) is an important part for us there that leads the way with some inspiring play. She hit the ball a million miles an hour in doubles, too, so I knew it was going to be a good day for her. Despite the fact that the conditions made it tricky to play pretty tennis today, she was very efficient."
 
Singles
Emmanouela Antonaki (MSU) def. No. 42 Sara Dahlstrom: 6-2, 6-3
No. 45 Carly Briggs def. Gia Cohen (MSU): 6-3, 6-3
Alicia Dudeney def. Alexandra Mikhailuk (MSU): 6-3, 6-3
Dharani Niroshan (MSU) def. Rachel Gailis: 6-4, 7-6(6)
Emily De Oliveira def. No. 117 Maria Rizzolo (MSU): 6-1, 6-4
Bente Spee def. Emily Surcey (MSU): 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
Order of Finish: 1,5,2,3,4,6
 
Doubles
Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee def. Emmanouela Antonaki/Dharani Niroshan (MSU): 6-1
No. 60 Carly Briggs/Rachel Gailis vs. Maddie Bemisderfer/Gia Cohen (MSU): 4-4, unf.
Emily De Oliveira/Sophie Williams def. Sydney Hrehor/Alexandra Mikhailuk (MSU): 6-3
Order of Finish: 1,3
 
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