Squinting across the 78 feet of plastered ground, freshman Alicia Dudeney stands and readies herself to receive the serve. It’s the same routine that she always performs, but at this moment, it feels a little different. With a crowd of over 300 fans looking on in the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex, the ball rises into the air, casting a small shadow across the court. Moments later, the Florida faithful erupt as Dudeney, their star newcomer, takes a crucial 4-3 lead in the second set.
Wiping sweat off her face, Dudeney doesn’t react. After having won the first set of the 2022 SEC Tournament semifinals over No. 70 Mary Stoiana and now being only two games away from taking a contest-tying match against top-seed Texas A&M, the freshman remains calm. The moment doesn’t seem too big for her.
Moments later, Dudeney closed out her match with Stoiana, cementing herself among the best up-and-coming players in collegiate women’s tennis.
That was nearly three years ago.
Now, having faced injuries and weathered roster adjustments, Dudeney's journey to her final season has been different than what many expected. That doesn’t bother the senior, as the challenges she has faced make her more excited for what looms this year.
“It definitely just made me realize how much I enjoy playing,” Dudeney said. “It just made me excited to actually come back and make the most of everything I have here in my last year.”
After an impressive freshman season that saw her lead UF in singles and doubles victories, Dudeney was expected to play a prominent role for the Gators as they looked to contend for national titles again. While she plays well on the court, injuries have forced her to play fewer matches each season, culminating in her competing in only 43 singles and doubles competitions in total last year.
Now fully healthy after a nagging hip injury, Dudeney is back for the Fall season, having already racked up two singles victories across her first two tournaments.
“As soon as I was physically able to, I wanted to jump straight back in and not kind of lose any more time,” Dudeney said.
Florida’s lineup will change throughout the fall slate as the team looks to figure out what its starting group will look like to enter the spring. While Dudeney will likely be featured, her slot in Florida’s lineup remains anything but guaranteed
After her freshman season, in which she went 28-9 in singles and played all of her dual matches in the top four slots, Dudeney has yet to make it back to the one spot. Last year, she played the majority of her, albeit fewer, singles matches in the back half of Florida’s lineup.
While her placement on the court changes, Dudeney emphasizes that her mindset entering each match doesn’t adjust based on where she’s playing.
“The margins are so small between the number one and the number six on the team,” Dudeney said. “Just remembering you are just playing the other girl on the net. No matter what position it is, to not focus on a number or like a certain match.”
When Dudeney makes her way onto the court, she separates the player she is from her spot in the lineup, allowing her to focus on helping Florida win.
Even though she no longer holds a top spot in Florida’s lineup, Dudeney remains motivated by her teammates and the desire to perform for them.
“Having that extra kind of motivation: ‘I go out there to play for them as well,’ definitely is that extra push to give it everything you have,” Dudeney said.
Entering her final season with UF, Dudeney has shifted into a newfound role off the court as well. She has gone out of her way to set an example for the younger players on her team, especially the trio of international freshmen. After all, Dudeney was once a foreigner in Gainesville too.
“I definitely am trying to be a bit of a leader for the freshman this year,” Dudeney said. “[I’m] just trying to kind of help them, because I have been through it all.”
Dudeney’s doubles partner Bente Spee emphasized her leadership impact.
“I think the freshmen really look up to her because she's doing so well, and just knowing that someone has been through that but is still able to come out on the right end of it,” Spee said.
Saying that Dudney has “been through it all” might be an understatement after three seasons that have featured injuries and playing slot changes, but also national success.
Florida head coach Roland Thornqvist has confidence in Dudeney, especially considering the challenges she has faced.
“She really believes in herself. And so I think that is another piece to where you know you can handle the struggle,” Thornqvist said.
The Gators coach explained that Dudeney’s trajectory with Florida changed due to her injury, forcing her to shift down the lineup as talented younger players joined the team. Thornqvist is still optimistic, though, that Dudeney could return to the player he saw against Texas A&M three years ago.
“[It’s the] first time in a few years that she's really healthy,” Thornqvist said. “So now we can grow her game again.”
With a bevy of talented freshmen joining Florida’s roster, Dudeney’s slot in the Gators’ lineup will again be uncertain, a story similar to her past few years. The senior will look to solidify herself as a mainstay on the top courts, but there is no guarantee that she will be.
Fueled by a team-first, one-play-at-a-time mindset, Dudeney will contribute in whatever role Thornqvist tasks her with in her final season.
“We talk about ‘Florida first’ as like a red line through our program,” Thornqvist said. “That was never something we had to teach [Alicia]... she's willing to do just about anything for Florida.”
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.
