Florida Gators

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The No. 16 Florida women's tennis team will continue their journey through the NCAA Tournament on Friday, May 12 when they head to Chapel Hill, N.C., for a showdown with No. 1 North Carolina in the Super Regional.
 
First serve is set for 5 p.m. ET at the Chewning Tennis Center, which was debuted on March 31 this season. Admission to the Super Regional match will be $5 and fan parking is available free of charge adjacent to the Chewning Tennis Center.
 
WE MEET AGAIN
For the second consecutive year, UF (18-7, 9-4 SEC) and UNC (31-1, 13-0 ACC) cross paths as the No. 16 and No. 1 seed, respectively, in the round of 16 at the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels return five of their starting six singles players from last year's 4-0 victory over the Gators. Historically, Florida women's tennis is dominant in the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament, boasting a 30-5 mark.
 
THE SERIES VS. NORTH CAROLINA
Florida and North Carolina will be meeting for the 17^th time in program history, with the Gators holding a 12-4 series advantage against the Tar Heels. In Chapel Hill, UF is 5-3 all-time.
 
HOMECOMING
Florida head coach Roland Thornqvist is making another return trip to his alma mater, North Carolina. Thornqvist graduated from UNC in 1996 while also playing for the Tar Heels from 1990-1993. Thornqvist established himself as one of the top players in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference during his collegiate career. He was a three-time first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, the 1993 ACC Player of the Year, a 1992 and 1993 first-team All-American and a 1992 and 1993 NCAA Tournament quarterfinalist in singles. In 1992, he led the Tar Heels to the ACC Championship and to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels also made the NCAA Tournament during his senior season, advancing to the round of 16. Thornqvist won the 1993 Rolex National Indoor Singles Championship as a senior. In both 1992 and 1993, he won the ITA's Rafael Osuna National Sportsmanship Award. He is the only college player in history to win that award twice. Thornqvist was the No. 4-ranked collegiate singles player in the country his senior year.
 
NCAA INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Florida women's tennis athletes Carly Briggs, Sara Dahlstrom, Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee have been selected to compete in the upcoming NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships. Briggs and Dahlstrom will compete in singles competition, while Dudeney and Spee will pair up for doubles play.
 
The singles and doubles competition will be conducted May 22-27 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. after the conclusion of the team championship, which runs from May 18-20. The University of Central Florida and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission will serve as host.
 
GATORS IN THE RANKINGS
Doubles
No. 21 Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee
No. 67 Carly Briggs/Rachel Gailis
 
Singles
No. 17 Sara Dahlstrom
No. 45 Carly Briggs
No. 99 Alicia Dudeney
 
SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS
North Carolina improved to 31-1 after winning 4-0 over Charleston Southern and Old Dominion in the First and Second Round, respectively, to begin the NCAA Tournament. UNC's lone loss came to NC State in the ACC Tournament Championship match. The Gators will look to be the first team to beat UNC on their home courts since March 25, 2018, as the Tar Heels haven't dropped at home in 81 matches.
 
In doubles, UNC has won the point in 29 of their 32 matches helping them jump out to the 1-0 lead. The Tar Heels have maintained the momentum in singles in almost every match this season, as they've dropped three singles matches only twice this season and have never lost four in an overall match.
 
TAR HEELS IN THE RANKINGS
Doubles
No. 8 Reese Brantmeier/Elizabeth Scotty
No. 11 Fiona Crawley/Carson Tanguilig
No. 40 Carson Tanguilig/Reilly Tran
No. 88 Abbey Forbes/Elizabeth Scotty
 
Singles
No. 1 Fiona Crawley
No. 8 Reese Brantmeier
No. 28 Carson Tanguilig
No. 35 Abbey Forbes
No. 38 Anika Yarlagadda
No. 100 Reilly Tran
No. 107 Elizabeth Scotty
 
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