Eleven days ago, Florida women’s tennis hired its third head coach since 1984. Today, he finished his debut tournament with UF with a chance to make an instant impact on the program.
Per Nilsson coached two Gators, freshman Talia Neilson-Gatenby and senior Alicia Dudeney, at the 17-team ITA South Sectional Championship event in Athens, Georgia. The duo combined for a 2-2 record in singles play on Thursday and Friday, concluding the tournament with a quarterfinal appearance by Dudeney.
In her final tune-up before heading to the NCAA Doubles Championship in Waco, Texas, Nov. 19-24, Dudeney fought her way to the quarterfinals behind two victories against SEC competition.
In her opening round match, Dudeney went back and forth with Kentucky junior Zoe Hammond. After Dudeney claimed victory in the first set, Hammond won the second 7-6 on a back-and-forth final point. Dudeney, a three-year contributor at Florida, was dominant down the stretch, taking the contest 6-2, 6-7, 6-4.
Dudeney’s second-round win came with less of a fight. Facing a familiar face in Georgia sophomore Aysegul Mert, a part of the Bulldogs duo that Dudeney and UF junior Rachel Gailis defeated to advance to the NCAA Championships, Dudeney beat Mert again, winning 7-5.
The UF senior’s run ended Friday against Ole Miss senior Lucie Petruzelova in a tightly contested three-set match. The Oxford native, Petruzelova, won 4-6, 6-3, 7-6.
Florida’s other contender was Neilson-Gatenby. The freshman lost her first-round match against Ole Miss junior Emma Kette 1-6, 7-5, 6-4. Neilson-Gatenby will next suit up for Florida on Jan. 11-12 at the Florida Invitational.
Florida’s final tournament before the new year comes in two weeks, Nov. 19-24, at the NCAA Championships. The Gators will send Gailis and Dudeney to compete in doubles play after they qualified for the event at the ITA Southeast Regional Championship earlier this season.
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.
