Florida loses its second-straight game of the season, after being swept 7-0 by No. 7 Michigan in its first road game.
After losing their first dual match of the year in the ITA Kickoff Weekend to LSU 4-1, head coach Per Nilsson and his team looked to bounce back on the road against the No. 7 MIchigan Wolverines. The Gators had over a week to plan and get their team ready for this match, as Florida looked to return to its winning ways before conference play begins.
“The opportunity to get on the road and matchup against a top ten team is another great challenge for the Gators as we continue to prepare for the intensity of SEC play,” Nilsson said.
The University of Michigan came into this matchup as the Gators’ toughest opponent of the new season. Ranked No. 7 in the nation, the Wolverines were 3-0 on the season and fresh off a road upset over No. 5 Virginia.
The Gators came into this game on a positive note as junior Rache Gailis was making her debut for the season. Gailis was paired with senior Alicia Dudeney for much of the fall season as the two made it to the final four of the NCAA Tournament in doubles and came into this match ranked third in the nation as a pair.
Despite their efforts, the Gators would go on to lose their second match of the season 7-0, resulting in the team falling to 2-2 before conference play begins.
The struggles started in doubles. Gailis made her debut on court two with freshman Talia Neilson-Gatenby as they faced No. 49 doubles pair senior Julia Fliegner and sophomore Reese Miller. Gailis and Neilson-Gatenby were able to stay close with the nationally ranked pair, but ultimately lost 7-5.
On court three, UF freshman pair Nikola Daubnerova and Noémie Oliveras faced freshman Ava Bruno and junior Lilly Jones. After falling behind 4-1, the freshman pair was unable to clawback, losing its match 6-2. The victory secured the doubles point for the Wolverines.=
In singles, things went further south for the Gators, as they lost five of their six singles matches in straight sets.
Oliveras and Dudeney both lost their matches 6-4, 6-4. Dudeney was defeated by No. 19 sophomore Piper Charney on court two, while Oliveras fell short to freshman Jessica Bernales.
UF Senior Bente Spee and Daubnerova struggled early in their matches, losing their first sets 6-0. Daubnerova’s struggles continued into the second set, where she lost 6-1 to Michigan freshman Emily Sartz-Lunde. Spee lost the second set 6-2 to Miller.
On court three, Neilson-Gatenby faced No. 40 Jones. After losing a close first set 6-4, Jones proved her ranking in singles, defeating Neilson-Gatenby comfortably in the second set 6-1.
Gailis would be the only Gator to win a set in singles on the day. She faced No. 9 Fleigneer, and despite losing the first set 6-2, Gailis came back to win the second set 6-3, forcing a super-set tiebreaker. Fleigner would go on to win the tiebreaker 10-6.
The result would secure a 7-0 sweep for Michigan over Florida, resulting in UF dropping its second game in a row.
The Gators are now 2-2 and will look to end their losing streak on the road Feb. 9 as they face Georgia Southern.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. 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.
