As the sun set over Tallahassee’s skyline, the sky turned pink. It was a picture-perfect setting for rivals Florida and Florida State during their only meeting of the season.
The setting might have been preferable for both teams, but No. 8 FSU came out with satisfaction after a decisive 4-1 victory over the No. 22 Gators. The Seminoles came out on top early with the doubles point advantage and easily handled what UF had to offer, cleaning up 3 matches to clinch the win.
Against FSU’s doubles, freshmn Sara Dahlstrom and senior Ida Jarlskog came within a match point of upsetting the No. 50 pairs Giulia Pairone and junior Emmanuelle Salas. Salas’ final spike nailed the dagger and ended Florida’s hopes.
FSU gained the doubles point advantage shortly after, as Seminoles Nandini Das and Andrea Garcia slid by Sydney Berlin and Amber McGinnis 6-4. Berlin’s and McGinnis’ continued their struggle later in the day when their singles opponents blew them out.
The only bright spot for Florida came from freshman Sara Dahlstrom. The final tally was a comfortable 6-3,6-2 finish but Dahlstrom had to grind for every point. Opponent Emmanuelle Salas was able to keep herself in the match by clawing her way to a deuce numerous times throughout the match.
Still unable to find their rhythm in doubles play is No. 26 McCartney Kessler and Marlee Zein. Although both of their efforts in the singles category have definitely not gone unnoticed, the chemistry between them seems to be fading as they come back to Gainesville without a victory in both doubles and singles.
They suffered a loss to No. 7 Victoria Allen and Petra Hule 6-3.
The team will now look to turn the tide in the rematch against No. 22 UCF. The Knights slid by the Gators 4-3 in their last meeting.
Contact Jesse Richardson jrichardson@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter @JesseRich352.
