GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 15 Florida women’s tennis opened the 2024 NCAA Tournament with a first-round win over Stetson on Saturday afternoon. The Gators shutout the Hatters 4-0 at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex and will advance to round two of post-season play.
The Gators started the doubles contest with an impressive performance on court three with Rachel Gailis and Bente Spee defeating Noa Cohen and Zali Morris 6-1. Clinching the doubles point for Florida was Carly Briggs and Qavia Lopez on court two. The pair defeated Cheri Darley and Alanna DiFrancesco 6-4 to give Florida a 1-0 advantage going into singles.
Alicia Dudeney and Malwina Rowinska were left unfinished against Magdalena Hedzrak and Nadejda Maslova. The duo was tied up at 5-5 before the match was abandoned.
Florida continued to trend in a victorious direction as they opened up singles with six first set victories. No. 75 Sara Dahlstrom was first to finish, extending Florida’s lead to 2-0 after defeating Nadejda Maslova 6-0 in the first set. Maslova retired due to injury prior to the start of the second set, giving Dahlstrom the automatic victory. Although Stetson was unable to finish out the match, Dahlstrom’s performance was nothing short of impressive. She dominated in the first set and gave Florida a preview of her post-season mentality.
No. 8 Rachel Gailis secured the third point for the Gators, pushing Florida to a 3-0 lead. Gailis trailed Cheri Darley 2-1 in the first three games, but regained momentum to win the next five straight and take the first set 6-2. Gailis’ energy carried through to set two as she began to cruise past Darley. Gailis only dropped one game in the second to close out 6-1 and give the Gators a three-point advantage.
The fourth and final point for Florida came from Alicia Dudeney as she defeated Zali Morris 6-2, 6-2. Dudeney had a clinical performance for the Gators as she setup each point with intention. Dudeney took the first three games of the match to boast a 3-0 lead before her opponent brought it within one at 3-2. Dudeney persevered and took the next three games to close out set one at 6-2. The second set followed in a similar fashion with Dudeney never trailing and coming out ahead at…
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