Friday, March 31
Gainesville, Fla.
3 P.M.
Florida Gators
vs
Missouri
Emma Shelton will be the lone senior celebrated at senior day on Sunday. (Photo by Matt Pendleton)
Women’s Tennis to Host Missouri and Arkansas
Thursday, March 30, 2023 | Women's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After a two-win weekend in the state of Mississippi, Florida women's tennis will return home for senior weekend, welcoming Missouri and Arkansas to the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
Friday's match against Missouri is slated to begin at 3 p.m. ET while Sunday's senior day match against Arkansas has first serve set for 1 p.m. ET.
THE LONE SENIOR
Emma Shelton returned home to compete for the Gators for the 2021-22 season and quickly made an impact for the Orange & Blue. A native of Gainesville, Shelton collected 18 singles victories last season and owns a 28-17 record in singles play at Florida, while also holding a 24-15 mark in doubles with the Gators. During the fall, Shelton won the Green Bracket at the Bedford Cup behind five-consecutive singles victories. Shelton played a key role in helping Florida re-establish dominance over in-state rival Florida State, clinching the match against the Seminoles by defeating Anna Arkadianou on Jan. 30, 2022. Overall, Shelton ends her collegiate career with a 60-32 mark in singles and 56-35 record in doubles while earning ITA Scholar-Athlete honors and being named the 2020 ITA Carolina Region Rookie of the Year, in addition to finding her name on the SEC All-Freshman Team.
THE SERIES VS. MISSOURI
Florida and Missouri will be meeting for the 10th time in program history on Friday afternoon, with the Gators holding a perfect 9-0 mark against the Tigers. Last season, UF took down Missouri 6-1 in Columbia on March 18, 2022.
THE SERIES VS. ARKANSAS
The Gators and Razorbacks will meet for the 36th time on Sunday, with Florida holding an impressive 35-1 record against Arkansas. The Orange & Blue are a perfect 18-0 in Gainesville and most recently, UF defeated Arkansas at the 2022 SEC Tournament, 4-1, to advance to the semifinals.
COUNTING DOWN
Between singles and doubles play, Alicia Dudeney has collected 90 victories during her two seasons with the Gators. The countdown is on for the sophomore, as she's just 10 wins away from becoming the 54th member of the 100-win club in Florida women's tennis history.
ITA RANKINGS
In the latest ITA Rankings, the Gators continued to climb the poll and find themselves ranked No. 16 as a team. Individually, Sara Dahlstrom leads the way with a ranking of No. 42, while Carly Briggs and Anastasia Sysoeva both remain in the rankings as well, sitting at 45th and 122nd, respectively. The doubles tandem of Briggs and Rachel Gailis also appear in this week's rankings, remaining the No. 60 doubles squad.
SEC STRONG
The SEC is one of the top conferences in collegiate tennis, with 12 teams finding themselves in the latest top-75 rankings from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Among the Power Five conferences, the SEC's 12 ranked-teams are the second most, while the ACC leads the way with 13. The Big Ten finds nine teams ranked, while the Pac 12 and Big 12 have eight and seven teams ranked, respectively.
PERFECT IN MISSISSIPPI STATE
The Gators are coming-off of a perfect weekend road trip to the Magnolia State, where they took down Mississippi State and Ole Miss. Florida defeat Mississippi State, 5-2, on Friday before pulling-away from Ole Miss for a 4-1 win on Sunday. No. 45 Carly Briggs and Emily De Oliveira posted a perfect 2-0 weekend in singles, while the Gators as a team claimed both doubles points.
TOP-THREE TRIUMPH
Florida earned their biggest win since the 2017 season on Wednesday afternoon, taking down No. 3 Michigan inside Linder Stadium, 4-1. After claiming the doubles point, Sara Dahlstrom (one singles), Alicia Dudeney (three singles) and Emily De Oliveira (five singles) were dominant in singles to secure the 4-1 victory, with each taking down a nationally-ranked opponent. 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.
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JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
Friday's match against Missouri is slated to begin at 3 p.m. ET while Sunday's senior day match against Arkansas has first serve set for 1 p.m. ET.
THE LONE SENIOR
Emma Shelton returned home to compete for the Gators for the 2021-22 season and quickly made an impact for the Orange & Blue. A native of Gainesville, Shelton collected 18 singles victories last season and owns a 28-17 record in singles play at Florida, while also holding a 24-15 mark in doubles with the Gators. During the fall, Shelton won the Green Bracket at the Bedford Cup behind five-consecutive singles victories. Shelton played a key role in helping Florida re-establish dominance over in-state rival Florida State, clinching the match against the Seminoles by defeating Anna Arkadianou on Jan. 30, 2022. Overall, Shelton ends her collegiate career with a 60-32 mark in singles and 56-35 record in doubles while earning ITA Scholar-Athlete honors and being named the 2020 ITA Carolina Region Rookie of the Year, in addition to finding her name on the SEC All-Freshman Team.
THE SERIES VS. MISSOURI
Florida and Missouri will be meeting for the 10th time in program history on Friday afternoon, with the Gators holding a perfect 9-0 mark against the Tigers. Last season, UF took down Missouri 6-1 in Columbia on March 18, 2022.
THE SERIES VS. ARKANSAS
The Gators and Razorbacks will meet for the 36th time on Sunday, with Florida holding an impressive 35-1 record against Arkansas. The Orange & Blue are a perfect 18-0 in Gainesville and most recently, UF defeated Arkansas at the 2022 SEC Tournament, 4-1, to advance to the semifinals.
COUNTING DOWN
Between singles and doubles play, Alicia Dudeney has collected 90 victories during her two seasons with the Gators. The countdown is on for the sophomore, as she's just 10 wins away from becoming the 54th member of the 100-win club in Florida women's tennis history.
ITA RANKINGS
In the latest ITA Rankings, the Gators continued to climb the poll and find themselves ranked No. 16 as a team. Individually, Sara Dahlstrom leads the way with a ranking of No. 42, while Carly Briggs and Anastasia Sysoeva both remain in the rankings as well, sitting at 45th and 122nd, respectively. The doubles tandem of Briggs and Rachel Gailis also appear in this week's rankings, remaining the No. 60 doubles squad.
SEC STRONG
The SEC is one of the top conferences in collegiate tennis, with 12 teams finding themselves in the latest top-75 rankings from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Among the Power Five conferences, the SEC's 12 ranked-teams are the second most, while the ACC leads the way with 13. The Big Ten finds nine teams ranked, while the Pac 12 and Big 12 have eight and seven teams ranked, respectively.
PERFECT IN MISSISSIPPI STATE
The Gators are coming-off of a perfect weekend road trip to the Magnolia State, where they took down Mississippi State and Ole Miss. Florida defeat Mississippi State, 5-2, on Friday before pulling-away from Ole Miss for a 4-1 win on Sunday. No. 45 Carly Briggs and Emily De Oliveira posted a perfect 2-0 weekend in singles, while the Gators as a team claimed both doubles points.
TOP-THREE TRIUMPH
Florida earned their biggest win since the 2017 season on Wednesday afternoon, taking down No. 3 Michigan inside Linder Stadium, 4-1. After claiming the doubles point, Sara Dahlstrom (one singles), Alicia Dudeney (three singles) and Emily De Oliveira (five singles) were dominant in singles to secure the 4-1 victory, with each taking down a nationally-ranked opponent. 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.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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