Sunday, March 5
Gainesville, Fla.
1 P.M.
Florida Gators
4
vs
1
LSU
Carly Briggs defeated No. 11 Kyle Collins to secure Florida's Sunday victory. (Photo by Mallory Peak/UAA Communications)
Gators Secure First SEC Victory with Win Over No. 34 LSU
Sunday, March 5, 2023 | Women's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida women's tennis put an end to a two-match losing skid on Sunday afternoon, defeating No. 34 LSU in impressive fashion inside Linder Stadium at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex, 4-1.
The Gators (6-3, 1-1 SEC) continued their strong doubles play into Sunday, finishing the opening weekend of Southeastern Conference play with a 2-0 mark. Emily De Oliveira and Sophie Williams, who clinched the doubles point against No. 2 Texas A&M, took a quick 3-0 lead over LSU's (6-3, 0-2 SEC) Safiya Carrington and Maggie Cubitt on court three. While the Tigers were able to pick-up three games, the Orange & Blue proved too much, holding on for a 6-3 victory.
In reverse order of Friday's match, Carly Briggs and Rachel Gailis would play clincher in the doubles competition. Matched-up against Noor Carrington and Anastasiya Komar on court two, the Gators' duo found themselves trailing 2-1 early in the match. After holding serve, the pair got a crucial break point to pull in-front, 3-2, and they never relinquished the lead, winning the match, 6-4.
Holding a 1-0 lead in the team match score, the Gators came out with energy to begin singles play. On court six, Spee found herself in a back-and-forth affair with Noor Carrington. Spee was able to pull ahead late in the opening set, 5-4, but Carrington immediately tied it. That didn't matter much to the sophomore, who stepped-up and claimed two-straight to win the first set, 7-5, before running away with the second set, 6-2.
At the three singles position, Alicia Dudeney was met by a strong start from Nina Geissler who claimed an early 2-1 lead over the Hove, United Kingdom, native. Geissler, however, wouldn't win another game in the set, as Dudeney reeled-off five-consecutive wins to take the first frame, 6-2. The momentum carried into set two for the sophomore, who walked away with a 6-2, 6-2 victory while giving UF a 3-0 lead.
The Tigers wouldn't go away without a fight, responding on court two where No. 44 Komar was able to gain an advantage on No. 83 Sara Dahlstrom with a 6-3 first set. Dahlstrom battled-back, even taking a 4-3 lead in the second, but Komar was able to hold on in a tiebreaker, 7-6(2).
Needing just one more victory, No. 63 Briggs came through in a huge way for the Orange & Blue. Matched up against one of the nation's best in No. 11 Kylie Collins, Briggs found herself knotted in a 3-3 matchup during the opening frame. The junior took control after breaking Collins, winning the first set with a 6-3 effort.
The nationally-ranked foes found themselves in a much closer fight in set two. After taking turns breaking each other to begin the second, Briggs was able to open-up a 3-2 edge. Collins returned the favor by regaining a 4-3 lead soon after. Trailing 5-4, Briggs faced double-match point and didn't flinch, taking the game before using that momentum to seal-off a path to victory for the Tiger, winning the match 7-5 and securing the first SEC victory of the season for the Gators.
Florida will hit the road next weekend for a Saturday showdown against No. 38 South Carolina on March 11. First serve in Columbia, S.C., is set for 12 p.m. ET.
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On Sunday's effort against a much-improved LSU team…
"Look, I think this a really talented team. We felt like we were the favorite today, and I think it might've a little tentative in doubles. We weren't as energetic as we were on Friday night and I think that gave LSU a little hope in the beginning, which perhaps made doubles a little more difficult that I would've liked to see."
"Overall, there's a lot of growth in this team in that, some of our players are learning to be able to compete and find ways to win when we're not hitting the ball well, which is really what college teaches you. In the juniors, most of the time when it's not feeling good, you end up losing and saying 'well I just didn't feel the ball today.' You can't give that excuse to your teammates in the locker room, so you have to learn, even on days when you don't feel the ball, to find ways to be competitive and close out matches. Obviously, that's something that a young team has to learn to do. Losing on Friday night was hurtful, but the team did do a really nice job of compartmentalizing that and taking care of business, which is a really good sign."
On Carly Briggs' big-time performance against Kylie Collins…
"What an amazing example she's setting for the rest of us. Her journey, right, goes from playing at the bottom of the lineup a little bit and playing careful and safe, to now being someone who can do that while also converting big opportunities by being aggressive at the right time. She's really coachable, she listens on the sidelines and for the rest of our players to see her growth is, I'm sure, is something everybody is aspiring to do, too.
Singles
No. 61 Carly Briggs def. No. 11 Kylie Collins (LSU): 6-3, 7-5
No. 44 Anastasiya Komar (LSU) def. No. 83 Sara Dahlstrom: 6-3, 7-6(2)
Alicia Dudeney def. Nina Geissler (LSU): 6-2, 6-2
Rachel Gailis vs. Safiya Carrington (LSU): 5-7, 6-4, 0-1, unfinished
Emily De Oliveira vs. Mia Rabinowitz (LSU): 6-0, 5-7, 1-2, unfinished
Bente Spee def. Noor Carrington (LSU): 7-5, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6,3,2,1
Doubles
Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee vs. Kylie Collins/Nina Geissler (LSU): 2-5, unf.
Carly Briggs/Rachel Gailis def. Noor Carrington/Anastasiya Komar (LSU): 6-4
Emily De Oliveira/Sophie Williams def. Safiya Carrington/Maggie Cubitt (LSU): 6-3
Order of Finish: 3,2
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The Gators (6-3, 1-1 SEC) continued their strong doubles play into Sunday, finishing the opening weekend of Southeastern Conference play with a 2-0 mark. Emily De Oliveira and Sophie Williams, who clinched the doubles point against No. 2 Texas A&M, took a quick 3-0 lead over LSU's (6-3, 0-2 SEC) Safiya Carrington and Maggie Cubitt on court three. While the Tigers were able to pick-up three games, the Orange & Blue proved too much, holding on for a 6-3 victory.
In reverse order of Friday's match, Carly Briggs and Rachel Gailis would play clincher in the doubles competition. Matched-up against Noor Carrington and Anastasiya Komar on court two, the Gators' duo found themselves trailing 2-1 early in the match. After holding serve, the pair got a crucial break point to pull in-front, 3-2, and they never relinquished the lead, winning the match, 6-4.
Holding a 1-0 lead in the team match score, the Gators came out with energy to begin singles play. On court six, Spee found herself in a back-and-forth affair with Noor Carrington. Spee was able to pull ahead late in the opening set, 5-4, but Carrington immediately tied it. That didn't matter much to the sophomore, who stepped-up and claimed two-straight to win the first set, 7-5, before running away with the second set, 6-2.
At the three singles position, Alicia Dudeney was met by a strong start from Nina Geissler who claimed an early 2-1 lead over the Hove, United Kingdom, native. Geissler, however, wouldn't win another game in the set, as Dudeney reeled-off five-consecutive wins to take the first frame, 6-2. The momentum carried into set two for the sophomore, who walked away with a 6-2, 6-2 victory while giving UF a 3-0 lead.
The Tigers wouldn't go away without a fight, responding on court two where No. 44 Komar was able to gain an advantage on No. 83 Sara Dahlstrom with a 6-3 first set. Dahlstrom battled-back, even taking a 4-3 lead in the second, but Komar was able to hold on in a tiebreaker, 7-6(2).
Needing just one more victory, No. 63 Briggs came through in a huge way for the Orange & Blue. Matched up against one of the nation's best in No. 11 Kylie Collins, Briggs found herself knotted in a 3-3 matchup during the opening frame. The junior took control after breaking Collins, winning the first set with a 6-3 effort.
The nationally-ranked foes found themselves in a much closer fight in set two. After taking turns breaking each other to begin the second, Briggs was able to open-up a 3-2 edge. Collins returned the favor by regaining a 4-3 lead soon after. Trailing 5-4, Briggs faced double-match point and didn't flinch, taking the game before using that momentum to seal-off a path to victory for the Tiger, winning the match 7-5 and securing the first SEC victory of the season for the Gators.
Florida will hit the road next weekend for a Saturday showdown against No. 38 South Carolina on March 11. First serve in Columbia, S.C., is set for 12 p.m. ET.
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On Sunday's effort against a much-improved LSU team…
"Look, I think this a really talented team. We felt like we were the favorite today, and I think it might've a little tentative in doubles. We weren't as energetic as we were on Friday night and I think that gave LSU a little hope in the beginning, which perhaps made doubles a little more difficult that I would've liked to see."
"Overall, there's a lot of growth in this team in that, some of our players are learning to be able to compete and find ways to win when we're not hitting the ball well, which is really what college teaches you. In the juniors, most of the time when it's not feeling good, you end up losing and saying 'well I just didn't feel the ball today.' You can't give that excuse to your teammates in the locker room, so you have to learn, even on days when you don't feel the ball, to find ways to be competitive and close out matches. Obviously, that's something that a young team has to learn to do. Losing on Friday night was hurtful, but the team did do a really nice job of compartmentalizing that and taking care of business, which is a really good sign."
On Carly Briggs' big-time performance against Kylie Collins…
"What an amazing example she's setting for the rest of us. Her journey, right, goes from playing at the bottom of the lineup a little bit and playing careful and safe, to now being someone who can do that while also converting big opportunities by being aggressive at the right time. She's really coachable, she listens on the sidelines and for the rest of our players to see her growth is, I'm sure, is something everybody is aspiring to do, too.
Singles
No. 61 Carly Briggs def. No. 11 Kylie Collins (LSU): 6-3, 7-5
No. 44 Anastasiya Komar (LSU) def. No. 83 Sara Dahlstrom: 6-3, 7-6(2)
Alicia Dudeney def. Nina Geissler (LSU): 6-2, 6-2
Rachel Gailis vs. Safiya Carrington (LSU): 5-7, 6-4, 0-1, unfinished
Emily De Oliveira vs. Mia Rabinowitz (LSU): 6-0, 5-7, 1-2, unfinished
Bente Spee def. Noor Carrington (LSU): 7-5, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6,3,2,1
Doubles
Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee vs. Kylie Collins/Nina Geissler (LSU): 2-5, unf.
Carly Briggs/Rachel Gailis def. Noor Carrington/Anastasiya Komar (LSU): 6-4
Emily De Oliveira/Sophie Williams def. Safiya Carrington/Maggie Cubitt (LSU): 6-3
Order of Finish: 3,2
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Kylie Collins / 0 (11/-) [LSU]
35
67
#2 Singles Match
12
Anastasiya Komar / 0 (44/-) [LSU]
67
36
#3 Singles Match
12
Nina Geissler / 0 [LSU]
22
66
#4 Singles Match
1234
Safiya Carrington / 0 [LSU]
7410
560UF
#5 Singles Match
1234
Mia Rabinowitz / 0 [LSU]
0720
651UF
#6 Singles Match
12
Noor Carrington / 0 [LSU]
52
76
Order of Finish:
6,3,2,1
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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