Fresh off of last weekend’s ups and downs at the Florida Invitational, the Florida women’s tennis team came into its first dual match of the season versus the University of North Florida, trying to start the new era under head coach Per Nilsson on the right foot. The Gators would go on to dominate UNF 5-2, going undefeated in their doubles matches and losing only one of their singles matches.
Coming into this spring season, the Gators had their fair share of hype by being ranked No. 19 in the ITA and No. 4 in the SEC pre-season polls. Last weekend, the Gators started their spring season at the Florida Invitational where they went undefeated in singles but winless in doubles. Nilsson and his team came into Sunday’s matchup against UNF looking to continue the singles success but get back on track in doubles. Florida went on to win both of its doubles matches and five out of six of its singles matches.
The Gators started off strong with impressive doubles play, winning both matches to secure the doubles point.
On court one, senior pair Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee started their match tied at two games each. However, the two caught fire winning three games in a row to take a 5-2 lead. After that streak, there was no turning back as the pair would go on to win their matchup 6-3.
Freshmen pair Talia Neilson-Gatenby and Nikola Daubnerova were on Court three as they looked to bounce back from their 0-2 record as a pair from last weekend’s invitational. The two started cold, falling behind 3-1. Fortunately for Neilson-Gatenby and Daubnerova, the two came back and claimed the next five games to win their match 6-3.
As a result, the Gators went 2-0 on the day in doubles, securing the doubles point.
The success from doubles carried over into singles play for Florida.
Daubnerova stayed hot after her doubles comeback, winning her first singles set 6-0. From there, Daubnerova never looked back, winning the second set 6-1 and securing a straight sets victory.
Similarly to Daubnerova, Dudeney and freshman Noémie Oliveras won in straight sets. Dudeney shined on court one winning 6-4, 6-3. On court four, Oliveras won the first set 6-1 and continued in stride to win the second set 6-0.
Just like in doubles, Neilson-Gatenby would muster a comeback victory. Neilson-Gatenby trailed 5-0 in the first set, but with her back against the wall, she stayed composed and won the next five games. The freshman would end up going to a tiebreaker where she claimed a 7-6 victory in the first set. Despite receiving an unsportsmanlike penalty, Neilson-Gatenby pushed through and won the second set 6-4.
This result makes the No. 8 ranked ITA preseason newcomer 3-0 on the young season in singles, with all her matches played on court two.
With the Gators claiming a 5-0 lead over UNF, the day would finish with Spee on court four facing UNF freshman Nicole Alfaro Salos. Spee lost the first set 7-5, and after much frustration, she crawled her way back into the second set. After a back-and-forth second set, Spee was able to win the tiebreaker and ultimately win the second set 7-6, forcing a tiebreaker super-set. Spee was unable to carry her momentum into the super set as she lost 10-3.
Despite this deficit, the Gators would prevail against UNF, securing a 5-1 victory in their first dual match of the season.
The Gators return to the court to continue dual play on Jan. 25 at home against Florida International University at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jeffreyserber17@gmail.com. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is the Spring 2025 women's tennis beat reporter and a first-year journalism sports & media major. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams.
