Florida Opens ITA All-American Qualifiers with Straight Set Wins

CARY, N.C.– The Gators came out strong on day one of the ITA All-American qualifiers with a pair of victories in the singles category. Both No. 103 Alicia Dudeney and No. 122 Talia Neilson-Gatenby defeated their opponents in straight sets setting the tone in the tournament’s round of 64.
 
Neilson-Gatenby was the first Florida matchup of the day facing off against No. 71 Shelly Bereznyak from Ohio State. Neilson-Gatenby found her on court groove from point one, dominating against the top-75 player. Neilson-Gatenby didn’t drop a game against the Buckeye to upset her in a 6-0, 6-0 sweep. The win over No. 71 Bereznyak, now marks Neilson-Gatenby’s highest career win.

Dudeney followed suit for the Gators playing Savannah Dada-Mascol from Appalachian State. Dudeney pulled ahead fairly quickly in the first set before taking it 6-2. Dada-Mascol fought back in the second set, breaking Dudeney to force extra games at 5-5. Although challenged late in the second set Dudeney found a way to push through and take the final two games of the match to close out 6-2, 7-5.

Over the weekend Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee won back-to-back doubles matches in the tournament’s pre-qualifying rounds. The duos first victory was over No. 76 Kennedy Gibbs and Na Dong of Baylor at 6-1, 6-1. Spee and Dudeney then went on to defeat Oklahoma’s Emma Staker and Salakthip Ounmang 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 to earn a spot in qualifiers. In Monday’s double matchup, Spee and Dudeney ultimately fell to No. 64 Bridget Stammel and Valeria Ray 6-2, 7-5. Despite the loss in the qualifiers round of 32, Spee and Dudeney will remain in the doubles action and play in the consolation bracket Tuesday evening.  

Head Coach Roland Thornqvist Says:

Coach Thornqvist on Florida’s performance in single on day one of ITA All-American Qualifiers:

“So far we have looked very impressive this tournament.  Talia played some flawless tennis this morning and although Lissy {Alicia Dudeney} won in straights, she was forced to problem solve at the end, which was something she struggled with last spring. It’s pretty evident that she’s a totally different player than she was last year.”

Tuesday (9/24) Qualifying Schedule:

Singles Round of 32:

12:30 pm: Alicia Dudeney vs. Gabia Paskauskas (NC State)

1:30 pm: Talia Neilson-Gatenby vs. Leonie Moeller (Memphis)

 

Doubles Consolation Round of 16:

4:00 pm: Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee vs. Alejandra Cruz and Given Roach (Georgia Tech)

 

Match Coverage:

Tournament…