Florida heads to Jacksonville for last dance of the fall season

All good things come to an end. 

The Florida women’s tennis team will usher in the end of its fall season by traveling to Jacksonville for the North Florida Invitational starting Nov. 12.

Freshman Alicia Dudeney, junior Emma Shelton, and freshman Bente Spee will all represent the orange and blue this weekend. The invitational will also mark the first fall appearance for Swedish sophomore Sara Dahlstrom. 

Last year, Dahlstrom’s strong performances moved her as high as No. 111 in the ITA in March. She was also named to the SEC All-Freshman team.

Spee and Shelton will compete in the doubles competition alongside fellow Gator duo Dahlstrom and Dudeney. Spee and Shelton found success earlier this season when they captured the doubles title at the Bedford Cup in October. 

Dudeney and Spee showed flashes of excellence at the Georgia Invitational, where the pair did not go untested. They opened up the tournament by capturing a victory against Central Florida's Valeriya Zeleva and Evgeniya Levashova, 8-5, but the Florida duo could not summon the same success against Guillermina Grant and Mell Reasco of Georgia losing by a score of 8-6. 

Dudeney and Spee bounced back with a win against Princeton's Brianna Shvets and Nathalie Rodilosso, 8-7(4), the following day of the competition, and now face new competitors as they try to end their fall season on a high note.

Florida women’s tennis enters this weekend's tournament off an impressive exhibition of resilience from junior Carly Briggs and senior Marlee Zein in the doubles competition at the ITA Fall National Championships. The upperclassman earned the doubles consolation title following four straight victories.

Now, other Gators will have a final chance to wow in doubles and singles play before training for the spring season, which begins on Jan. 13 at the Freeman Memorial Championships in Las Vegas.

Contact Brenda Bogle at bbogle@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @bogle_brenda.

---