Florida’s top doubles pair started the ITA Southeast Regional Championships impressively and never looked back. After receiving a bye and winning their first two contests, junior Rachel Gailis and senior Alicia Dudeney advanced to the tournament quarterfinals for the Gators.
The ITA Regional Championship serves as one of the most important tournaments in the Fall collegiate tennis schedule. Twenty-six regional tournaments are hosted, with each producing three NCAA Championship automatic bids. The finalists of each singles tournament receive a slot in the NCAA tournament bracket, while the winning duo of each doubles bracket also qualifies.
With a jump in competition facing an SEC duo, there was a possibility the Gailis and Dudeney would waver under pressure. However, that didn’t happen.
The UF duo defeated Georgia freshman Hayden Mulberry and junior Sofia Rojas 8-5 in a game whose score wasn’t representative of the dominance that occurred.
The Gators advanced to the semifinals, where doubles play switched to a best-of-three-sets format.
Facing Florida International junior Ekaterina Khairutdinova and sophomore Valery Gynina, UF’s experienced duo of Gailis and Dudeney imposed their will. After a little over an hour of play, the Gators walked off the court with a 6-1, 6-3 two-set victory.
Tuesday morning’s championship matchup was set.
In a meeting of frequently-aligned rivals, the Florida pair prepared to take on Georgia in its home state.
Georgia sophomore Aysegul Mert and senior Guillermina Grant pushed the Gators harder than any other pair in the tournament. After a tight first-set victory 7-5, followed by a disorganized 2-6 second-set loss, the pair faced its most difficult challenge this Fall.
Entering the third set with an NCAA Championship tournament birth on the line, the Gators delivered. Georgia and Florida traded blows throughout the final set, but with victory in sight, Gailis and Dudeney took the win against Georgia 10-6 as UF’s bench erupted.
Gailis and Dudeney’s victory was the final piece of a successful six-day stint for Florida at the Southeast ITA Regional Championships in Atlanta. The Gators courted six athletes: two singles competitors and three doubles pairs, including junior Gailis and senior Dudeney, who won the doubles championship and earned an NCAA Championship bid.
UF freshman Talia Neilson-Gatenby and senior Bente Spee advanced to the round of 16. Like Gailis and Dudeney, the pair received a first-round bye before facing off with Georgia Southern junior Nanaka Kijima and freshman Amelie Rosadoro. Their first doubles match resulted in an uncontested victory for Florida, 8-4. Neilson-Gatenby and Spee’s second match was vastly different.
In arguably Florida’s most competitive singles match, Neilson-Gatenby and Spee went back and forth with Georgia Tech junior Alejandra Cruz and sophomore Given Roach. The Gators forced a playoff but ultimately lost 8-7.
Florida’s youngest duo, freshmen Noemie Oliveras and Nikola Daubnerova, was the least successful of the trio of pairs. They were the only one of the three pairs that didn’t receive a first-round bye. Nevertheless, they won their opening contest 8-6 against Georgia Southern’s freshmen Evelyn Warkentin and Lisen Rinman.
Oliveras and Daubnerova’s youth caught up to them in their second matchup, with disoriented play reigning down the stretch. Their time in Atlanta concluded in a loss to Georgia Tech’s senior Kylie Bilchev and sophomore Meera Jesudason 8-5.
Florida freshman Oliveras and senior Alicia Dudeney were the only players who competed in both singles and doubles.
Oliveras opened play for UF at the tournament, competing in singles qualifiers on Thursday. After starting her career at UF 1-3 in singles this Fall, the freshman outlasted Kennesaw State senior Sophia Unger 3-6, 6-3. The win jumped Oliveras into the main draw where she regressed, losing 6-2, 6-2 to Miami freshman Jaquelyn Ogunwale.
In the Fall season, Dudeney has been Florida’s strongest singles performer. Returning from two consecutive years marred by injuries, it could have taken time for her to work back into the flow of competition. That has not been the case.
Dudeney was an automatic qualifier for the singles main draw, starting play on Friday against Georgia Tech’s Roach. The pair played a competitive back-and-forth match that concluded with a third-set playoff. Dudeney showed composure down the stretch, pulling out a victory 6-3, 5-7, 7-6. However, the win didn’t create any momentum for her in round two.
After competing in a doubles match on Saturday, the experienced senior looked exhausted at times against Miami junior Xinyi Nong. Dudeney dropped her round of 32 contest 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, ending her time in the singles ITA Regionals singles bracket.
With Florida’s victory on Tuesday, Dudeney and Gailis will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championship in November. The pair will head to Waco, Texas, Nov. 19-24.
The Gators will look to carry their doubles momentum into a road trip to Norman, Oklahoma. As part of the Norman 35K tournament, Florida will face an unannounced field Oct. 28-Nov. 3.
Contact Noah White at nwhite@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @noahwhite1782
Noah White is a sophomore majoring in journalism and public relations and The Alligator's Women's Tennis Reporter. In his free time, Noah writes some more and plays soccer and volleyball. He also knows more about Liberty League women's soccer than you do.
