GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 16 Florida women's tennis team, winners of five consecutive matches, bounced back from dropping the doubles point and won five singles matches to down No. 54 Arkansas, 5-2, at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex on Sunday afternoon.
 
Florida (13-4, 7-2 SEC) couldn't manufacture control in doubles play and Arkansas (9-10, 3-7 SEC) separated themselves on court two and three quickly. In the three position, Emily De Oliveira/Sophie Williams broke Carolina Gomez-Alonso/Kelley Keller's serve to open the match, but the Razorbacks won the next six games for a 6-1 victory. On court two, Grace O'Donnell/Lenka Stara would grab the doubles point for Arkansas with a 6-2 win over No. 60 Carly Briggs/Rachel Gailis. Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee were leveled at 3-3 with No. 23 Morgan Cross/Indianna Spink before the match was left unfinished on court one.
 
Requiring four singles matches to win, Florida got off to a tremendous start and earned four first sets. On court four, Gailis raced out to a 4-1 lead and won the first set 6-1 against Stara. The freshman continued to dominate the second set and dropped just two games to claim the straight set victory, 6-1, 6-2. With the win, Gailis improved her winning streak to three matches and tied the overall match at 1-1 for Florida.
 
The Gators gained their first lead of the match, 2-1, thanks to No. 42 Sara Dahlstrom at the top singles position. Facing her second ranked-opponent of the weekend in No. 79 Keller, Dahlstrom dictated the entire match and began with a 4-1 lead in the opening frame. After securing the first set 6-1, the junior cruised in the second, 6-3, and completed the victory in straights. The native of Stockholm, Sweden added her sixth ranked-win this spring and beat two top-80 opponents without dropping a set this weekend.
 
From court three, the third point came for the Gators via a straight set triumph by Dudeney over Spink. With both players holding serve in the first, Dudeney and Spink went to tiebreak where the former only dropped two points to take the first set lead, 7-6 (2). The native of Hove, United Kingdom was down a break in the second, but reeled off three straight games to win the frame, 6-4. Dudeney has now won eight matches in a row and is 7-1 in SEC play.
 
For the first time this season, Spee played clincher for the Orange & Blue in comeback fashion on court six against Kacie Harvey. After losing grasp of the first set 6-4, the sophomore returned with a vengeance in the following two. Beginning in the second set, Spee was tied 2-2, but won the next four games for the 6-2 decision and sent the match to a third set decider. Spee quickly moved past Harvey in third, converting a break for the 3-1 lead and dispatched the Razorback, 6-2.
 
Closing the match out for the Gators was No. 45 Briggs from court two. Following an opening set tiebreak where No. 85 Gomez-Alonso came out on top, 7-6 (4), Briggs battled back from a 5-3 hole to force another tiebreak. Finding herself in a 4-2 disadvantage, Briggs continued to fight and won five of the next six points for the 7-6 (5) decision. Both sides extended their strong play in to the third set and were tied 2-2, but the senior went on a run and snatched up four of the next five games to secure the three-set victory, 6-3. The win over Gomez-Alonso is Briggs' third ranked-win of dual play and all have come against top-100 opponents.
 
Florida begins the first half of a four-match SEC road stretch to finish the regular season, as the team travels to Tennessee on Friday, April 7 for a 4 p.m. match and end the weekend at Georgia on Sunday, April 9 with a 1 p.m. first serve.
 
QUOTES FROM THE COURT
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the comeback victory…
"I thought Arkansas played really well at two and three doubles. They hit the ball really hard and I don't think we were necessarily prepared for the ball to come at that speed. At the same time, we didn't make enough first serves and they got plenty of second serve looks and really punished us in doubles. I thought the team handled it well and put the hard hat on and really went to work. We won some key, close first sets. I think our team is starting to learn we can lean on teams. There can be close first sets, but lean on them and make it physical. Then, we find that little crack and we are there to take advantage. I thought you saw that on multiple courts today where we can play physical tennis and it's really starting to pay dividends for us. Arkansas is a really talented team, so this was a great win for us."

On Bente Spee's strong weekend and clinching the Florida victory today…
"Obviously her confidence is huge and you can start seeing it now. In my meeting with her, she believes now she can win playing "A" game and also "B" game. In pressure moments, she can rely on her physical abilities and doesn't necessarily have to hit the ball by people. I thought, in the past, she tried to play too big under pressure. Now, she is able to rally and wait for the right ball to attack. Decision-making on big points has improved so much and part of it is the training she has been doing and the other is the confidence."
 
On taking a five-match winning streak and maintaining strong tennis in to a demanding road-stretch…
"The SEC is a competitive cauldron. You have to be on your Ps and Qs. I think, obviously, we are playing at a high level. We have to continue to nurture our doubles game. That point can prove to be decisive, especially on the road. I feel like we've really improved in that department. We've won the majority of doubles in the last month, so we need to look at that and continue to improve on some things. First-serve percentage, so and so forth. Overall, I feel like we are playing about as good as any team in the league. We are going to get on the plane and try to go give it to them."
 
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee (UF) vs No. 23 Morgan Cross/Indianna Spink (ARK), 3-3, unfinished
2. Grace O'Donnell/Lenka Stara (ARK) def. No. 60 Carly Briggs/Rachel Gailis (UF), 6-2
3. Carolina Gomez-Alonso/Kelly Keller (ARK) def. Emily De Oliveira/Sophie Williams (UF), 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 2
 
SINGLES RESULTS
1. No. 42 Sara Dahlstrom (UF) def. No. 79 Kelly Keller (ARK), 6-1, 6-3
2. No. 45 Carly Briggs (UF) def. No. 85 Carolina Gomez-Alonso (ARK), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-3
3. Alicia Dudeney (UF) def. Indianna Spink (ARK), 7-6 (2), 6-4
4. Rachel Gailis (UF) def. Lenka Stara (ARK), 6-1, 6-2
5. Morgan Cross (ARK) def. Emily De Oliveira (UF), 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4
6. Bente Spee (UF) def. Kacie Harvey (ARK), 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 3, 6, 5, 2

FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram