Qavia Lopez/Malwina Rowinskia were the first to get it done, defeating FIU’s Katerina Madelikova/Salma Loudili 6-1. Sara Dahlstrom/ Rachel Gailis followed with a 6-3 victory over Valery Gynina/Kristyna Hranacova to secure the doubles point for the Gators with a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
Finding wins in singles proved to be a tall task for the Gators after they were edged in four initial sets. However, Florida fought back and showed their ability to compete with Rachel Gailis and Sara Dahlstrom forcing third sets in both of their matches. Gailis ended up being the deciding match after Qavia Lopez and Alicia Dudeney walked away with sturdy victories. Gailis was up for the assignment, coming back to win the second set 6-4 over Valery Ginyna and close out 6-3 in the third.
Qavia Lopez picked up the first singles win for the Gators, defeating Salma Loudili 6-3, 6-3. Not far behind was Alicia Dudeney with a dominating 6-1 first set over Petja Drame. Drame rallied back in the second to challenge Dudeney in the final games, but it was Florida’s Alicia Dudeney who came out ahead with a 6-4 victory to finalize the match at 6-1, 6-4.
Falling short for the Gators in the Saturday’s contest was Emily de Oliveira and Carly Briggs. Both were met with fierce competitors and fought till the last point. De Oliveira was edged 6-3, 6-0 against Oyinlomo Quadre and Carly Briggs fell 6-2, 6-4 toEkaterina Khairutdinova.
Singles: (Order of Finish: 1,5, 2, 6, 3,4)
1. Oyinlomo Quadre (FIU) def. Emily de Oliveira (UF) 6-3, 6-0
2. Ekaterina Khairutdinova (FIU) def. Carly Briggs (UF) 6-2, 6-4
3. Rachel Gailis (UF) def. Valery Ginyna (FIU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Qavia Lopez (UF) defs Alma Loudili (FIU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Alicia Dudeney (UF) def. Petja Drame (FIU) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles: (Order of Finish: 1,2)
1. Malwina Rowinska/Qavia Lopez (UF) def. Katerina Mandelikova/Salma Loudili (FIU) 6-1
2. Sara Dahlstrom/Rachel Gailis (UF) def. Valery Gynina/Kristyna Hranacova (FIU) 6-3
HEAD COACH ROLAND THORNQVIST SAYS:
UF Head Coach Roland Thornqvist on FIU and the outcome:
“This is by far the best FIU team we’ve ever played. This is a really good team. I thought the tennis was at an…
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