ATLANTA – An impressive run at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Southeast Regional came to an end for Carly Briggs and Alicia Dudeney, as the pair finished as the runners-up in the doubles competition on Monday afternoon.
Matched-up against the top doubles team in the nation, the Gators put up a fight, battling in the opening frame before falling, 6-4. Georgia Tech’s Carol Lee and Kate Sharabura, ranked number one for a reason, kicked into a different gear in the second set to pull away for the 6-2 set and match victory.
Ending as the runners-up at the ITA Southeast Regional, Briggs and Dudeney collected four victories, including a straight-set 6-4, 7-5 effort over Kylie Bilchev and Alejandra Cruz of Georgia Tech in the semifinal round. Their runner-up finish also solidifies their slot at the ITA Fall National Championships from Nov. 2-6 in San Diego, Calif.
As a team the Orange & Blue ended the tournament with 17 overall victories, featuring a consolation singles title from Emily De Oliveira who claimed the title after defeating Georgia Tech’s Alejandra Cruz: 4-6, 6-2, 10-8. For the weekend, the sophomore tallied five of the Gators’ wins.
Quotables
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the weekend and doubles play…
“The two things that really stood out this weekend for us was Emily’s performance in singles and her development as a competitor and player, and Carly’s performance in doubles. She has completely transformed her doubles play. She’s always been gritty as a competitor, but to be playing against the best team in the country and competing at this level in doubles requires a different mindset. You have to be a shot-maker and risk-taker and I have just been really happy with her transformation there. It’s going to help us a lot, and we’re going to be a completely different doubles team now in the spring because of Carly’s improvement in doubles.”
On De Oliveira’s singles performance at the Regionals…
“You know, she’s always been really good at practice, even last year when she had her knee surgery she helped us because she’s really good in practice. It was hard for us to gauge what kind of competitor she was and that’s one thing she’s really showed us this week. In these type of moments, she’s not just a ball-striker, but she competes really well. You don’t win the consolation of this event unless you’re a tough competitor and she certainly showed that, especially in the finals with a three-setter while beating…
Matched-up against the top doubles team in the nation, the Gators put up a fight, battling in the opening frame before falling, 6-4. Georgia Tech’s Carol Lee and Kate Sharabura, ranked number one for a reason, kicked into a different gear in the second set to pull away for the 6-2 set and match victory.
Ending as the runners-up at the ITA Southeast Regional, Briggs and Dudeney collected four victories, including a straight-set 6-4, 7-5 effort over Kylie Bilchev and Alejandra Cruz of Georgia Tech in the semifinal round. Their runner-up finish also solidifies their slot at the ITA Fall National Championships from Nov. 2-6 in San Diego, Calif.
As a team the Orange & Blue ended the tournament with 17 overall victories, featuring a consolation singles title from Emily De Oliveira who claimed the title after defeating Georgia Tech’s Alejandra Cruz: 4-6, 6-2, 10-8. For the weekend, the sophomore tallied five of the Gators’ wins.
Quotables
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the weekend and doubles play…
“The two things that really stood out this weekend for us was Emily’s performance in singles and her development as a competitor and player, and Carly’s performance in doubles. She has completely transformed her doubles play. She’s always been gritty as a competitor, but to be playing against the best team in the country and competing at this level in doubles requires a different mindset. You have to be a shot-maker and risk-taker and I have just been really happy with her transformation there. It’s going to help us a lot, and we’re going to be a completely different doubles team now in the spring because of Carly’s improvement in doubles.”
On De Oliveira’s singles performance at the Regionals…
“You know, she’s always been really good at practice, even last year when she had her knee surgery she helped us because she’s really good in practice. It was hard for us to gauge what kind of competitor she was and that’s one thing she’s really showed us this week. In these type of moments, she’s not just a ball-striker, but she competes really well. You don’t win the consolation of this event unless you’re a tough competitor and she certainly showed that, especially in the finals with a three-setter while beating…
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