ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida women’s tennis Carly Briggs cemented her spot in the round of 16 in the NCAA Singles Championship, while Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee also reached the round of 16 in the NCAA Doubles Championship on Tuesday at the USTA National Campus.
Continuing the dominant play shown in the round of 64, No. 45 Briggs played an even cleaner match in the second round versus Notre Dame’s No. 65 Page Freeman. The senior wasted no time and broke Freeman’s serve in the first game of the match and raced out to a double break lead up 4-0. For the four-game lead, Briggs saved four break points after being down 0-40 in her second service game. To get the advantage, Briggs secured the first set 6-2.
The Calhoun, Ga. native broke serve first once again in the following frame at 2-1, but Freeman immediately broke back to level the set at two apiece. However, Briggs returned the favor and went up a break for the second time the very next game. From up 4-2, the pressure from Briggs appeared to be too much for Freeman, as the Notre Dame lefty double faulted on deuce point and allowed the Gator to serve out the match for a 6-2 second set.
Briggs becomes the first Gator to reach the round of 16 in the NCAA Singles Championship since Anna Danilina in 2018 and achieves ITA All-American status by advancing to the round of 16. The victory improves Briggs overall singles record to 20-14 and a 7-11 record against ranked opponents.
In the round of 16, Briggs faces No. 12 Ayana Akli from South Carolina at a time to be determined in a rematch of their dual match at the top singles position on March 11. Akli won the first meeting 6-2, 6-1 and is 33-9 this season after defeating Virginia Tech’s No. 54 Ozlem Uslu 6-0, 6-1 in the second round.
On the doubles side, No. 21 Dudeney/Spee began their round of 32 match outside against No. 43 Adel-Byanu Abidullina/Eliza Askarova of Delaware and were leveled at 2-2 with a break point opportunity up 40-30. A lightning delay went into effect and one-hour and 12-minutes later – indoors – the Gators tandem converted on the break, giving the two sophomores a 3-2 lead. The one break advantage was enough to distance themselves in the first and Dudeney/Spee won the opener 6-4.
Both pairs held serve up until 4-4 in the second set, until Dudeney/Spee pounced and converted the first break. Up 5-4 and serving for the set, the Gators slipped and the Blue Hens’ duo took advantage by breaking back….
Continuing the dominant play shown in the round of 64, No. 45 Briggs played an even cleaner match in the second round versus Notre Dame’s No. 65 Page Freeman. The senior wasted no time and broke Freeman’s serve in the first game of the match and raced out to a double break lead up 4-0. For the four-game lead, Briggs saved four break points after being down 0-40 in her second service game. To get the advantage, Briggs secured the first set 6-2.
The Calhoun, Ga. native broke serve first once again in the following frame at 2-1, but Freeman immediately broke back to level the set at two apiece. However, Briggs returned the favor and went up a break for the second time the very next game. From up 4-2, the pressure from Briggs appeared to be too much for Freeman, as the Notre Dame lefty double faulted on deuce point and allowed the Gator to serve out the match for a 6-2 second set.
Briggs becomes the first Gator to reach the round of 16 in the NCAA Singles Championship since Anna Danilina in 2018 and achieves ITA All-American status by advancing to the round of 16. The victory improves Briggs overall singles record to 20-14 and a 7-11 record against ranked opponents.
In the round of 16, Briggs faces No. 12 Ayana Akli from South Carolina at a time to be determined in a rematch of their dual match at the top singles position on March 11. Akli won the first meeting 6-2, 6-1 and is 33-9 this season after defeating Virginia Tech’s No. 54 Ozlem Uslu 6-0, 6-1 in the second round.
On the doubles side, No. 21 Dudeney/Spee began their round of 32 match outside against No. 43 Adel-Byanu Abidullina/Eliza Askarova of Delaware and were leveled at 2-2 with a break point opportunity up 40-30. A lightning delay went into effect and one-hour and 12-minutes later – indoors – the Gators tandem converted on the break, giving the two sophomores a 3-2 lead. The one break advantage was enough to distance themselves in the first and Dudeney/Spee won the opener 6-4.
Both pairs held serve up until 4-4 in the second set, until Dudeney/Spee pounced and converted the first break. Up 5-4 and serving for the set, the Gators slipped and the Blue Hens’ duo took advantage by breaking back….
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